HOW DID TERRORIST MAFIA JAY JAY BANDA, A FUGITIVE OF THE LAW, BECOME A “MIRACLE”?
Here’s a thug who rained hell on Zambia’s political scene from 2015 to 2021. According to Dr Dora Siliya, in her book, Minding My Father’s Country, Fugitive Jay Jay Banda was allegedly enabled to rain terror by former late President Edgar Lungu.
Fugitive Emmanuel “Jay Jay” Banda, the former Petauke Central Member of Parliament, was a central figurev in the political violence that characterised the Patriotic Front’s (PF) years in power.
In her book, Minding My Father’s Country, former Cabinet minister Dr Dora Siliya provides a detailed account of the political machinations in Petauke and the criminals who terrorised her campaign team ahead of the August 2021 elections.
#DR DORA SILIYA: THUGGERY WAS THE SOUL OF THE PF
Dr Siliya wrote in her book, detailing how some people within the PF wanted her punished for not completely toeing the party line and replaced by someone who represented what she called the party’s “very soul: thuggery.”
She questioned how the PF expected to win the 2021 general elections which was characterized by violence.
Dr Siliya further recounts confronting the late Former President Edgar Lungu over Fugitive Banda’s political activities. According to her account, she was dissatisfied with Lungu’s response and questioned why a thug Jay Jay Banda was seemingly allowed to operate without being disciplined.
She also describes concerns about violence involving police officers and recounts how Late President Edgar Lungu called then Inspector General of Police Kakoma Kanganja to ask why Fugitive Mafia Jay Jay Banda had not been arrested.
Dr Siliya’s account goes beyond political rivalry. She described PF as a party in which internal loyalties, political patronage and the treatment of mafia figures had become a norm.
She also writes about how her own constituency chairman worked against her candidacy while campaigning for terrorist Jay Jay Banda.
These events and claims are documented in her book, Minding My Father’s Country.
Terrorist fugitive Jay Jay Banda eventually defeated Dr Siliya in the 2021 Petauke parliamentary election as an independent candidate, in what can only be described as a loss of democracy.
A tyrant won, but we thank God his State House sponsors lost the general election.
#REMEMBER PETER SUKWA?
Former Post newspaper journalist Peter Sukwa was assaulted during the 2015 presidential by-election campaign period in Eastern Province. Reports on the court proceedings state that Banda was found guilty of assault and fined K14,000, with K12,000 allocated to the journalist and K2,000 to the State. <Link url=”https://diggers.news/local/2020/07/14/pf-official-on-the-run-after-staging-armed-robbery-beating-cops-at-lsk-central-police/” title=”News Diggers’ report on the case and Banda’s political history”/>.
The incident included the horrifying act of urinating in Sukwa’s mouth. The journalist later sought a review of the court’s judgment, arguing that the punishment did not adequately reflect the humiliation and trauma he suffered. <Link url=”https://www.africa-press.net/zambia/all-news/journalist-peter-sukwa-continues-to-seek-justice-in-his-assault-cases” title=”Read the report on Sukwa’s pursuit of justice”/>.
Let that sink in. A journalist was subjected to such degrading treatment, and the matter went through the courts. This is part of the record that should inform any discussion of fugitive Banda’s public image.
In July 2020, News Diggers also reported that police were searching for Banda following an incident at Lusaka Central Police Station in which officers were assaulted.
The report described him as having gone on the run while facing aggravated robbery charges.
#THE FAMILY CONTROVERSY: MARRYING TWO BIOLOGICAL SISTERS
Then there is Banda’s reported marital history.
News reports identified Nace Chali, Lombe Chali and Mumba Banda as his wives, with Nace and Lombe being biological sisters. Nace reportedly spoke about the emotional pain she experienced when her husband became involved with and married her younger sister. She described the distress she endured during a period of serious medical complications following childbirth.
Nace experienced postpartum depression yet Fugitive Mafia Jay Jay Banda did not care he was busy in bed with her young sister.
The question is not difficult to understand: what happens to a family when a husband marries two biological sisters, and what are the consequences for the women and their children?
The children of two sisters who share the same father are half siblings through their father and first cousins through their mothers. This complicated family arrangement is immoral!
#PARLIAMENT IS NOT A PLAYGROUND
Fugitive Mafia Jay Jay Banda reported conduct in Parliament has also attracted attention, he was allegedly reprimanded over bringing more than 12 of his children into the parliamentary precinct.
Parliament is a place of national business, not a playground. Public office demands respect for the institution and its rules.
But what does a thug know?
His disappearance from Chipata Central Hospital while under guard by police and correctional officers further placed him at the centre of a major law enforcement controversy. Police confirmed that he disappeared while receiving treatment, prompting investigations.
SO, WHERE IS THE MIRACLE?
How can a normal thinking Zambian line up at Heroes Stadium expecting free money from a man whose public record includes a conviction for assaulting a journalist, political violence documented in news reports, a controversial immoral family history and a disappearance from custody?
Instead of blindly following a fugitive, go and volunteer to clean the city. The mayor might just notice your commitment and give you a job.