PF Media Director Antonio Mwanza has challenged justice minister Mulambo Haimbe to state which law he will use to terminate former president Edgar Lungu’s benefits.
He is reacting to Mr Haimbe’s remarks quoted by News Diggers that president Lungu should not be enjoying his benefits since he declared being in active politics, and that a position from the Attorney General’s chambers has been sent to Cabinet Office.
Mr Mwanza, however, says president Lungu is not in active politics.
Below is his full statement:
Justice Minister Mulambo Haimbe says the UPND government plans to terminate President Edgar Chagwa Lungu’s retirement benefits alleging that the former President is in active politics.
Let’s look at the facts:
- Chapter 15 of the
Benefits of Former Presidents Act defines what being in “active politics” means.
Interpretation;
In this Act ( The Benefits of Former Presidents Act) unless the context otherwise requires—
“active politics” means—
(a) the doing of any act indicating a person’s intention to hold elective or appointive office; or
(b) the holding of elective office or appointive office in a political party or in an organisation whose main aim is the furtherance of political objectives.
According to the law as quoted above, President Edgar Lungu is not in active politics so what law will Haimbe and UPND use to terminate his retirement benefits? Unless they want to amend the current law, otherwise Haimbe and his team are totally offside.
- President Edgar Lungu like any other Zambian has the Constitutional right under the Constitution of the Republic of Zambia to freely express himself without fear or retribution and to try to gag him using threats of withdrawal of his retirement benefits is immoral, unconstitutional and totally unacceptable.
It is buffoonery of the worst kind to go after President Lungu’s family and expect the man to remain quiet while his son, his daughter and his wife are being persecuted and threatened through the abuse of Law Enforcement Agencies.
What kind of a husband and a father can remain mute while his own wife and children are being persecuted? President Lungu has every right and reason to protect and defend his family; that’s the normal and expected thing to do.
- We are not naive to note that UPND are scared of President Edgar Chagwa Lungu. They have seen how loved and admired the man is. This is evident by the positive manner in which majority Zambians react every time a picture or story of President Edgar Lungu pops up on social media; and in the warped minds of the UPND they think President Lungu is coming back to politics so they are trying everything within their power to silence the man and tarnish his image.
The man is retired. Leave him alone. Let him enjoy his retirement in peace. Stop persecuting his family. If you have evidence of his wrongdoing take the appropriate legal steps as provided by the Constitution instead of mentally and physically tormenting him and his family.
- UPND must know that no matter how much they try to rewrite history and attempt to tarnish the image of President Edgar Lungu, they can never take away the massive infrastructure development among many other social and economic developments that the President Lungu and his compatriots in PF achieved for Zambia during their time in office. They left an indelible mark of excellency and no amount of lies and propaganda will change that.
UPND must concentrate on fixing the economy and delivering on their many fake promises instead of spending all their time and energy trying to kill and bury President Lungu and the PF.
People are suffering and that should be the priority number one for the UPND instead of wasting time trying to annihilate President Lungu and the Patriotic Front.
Governments come and go and the very seed of bitterness, hatred and vengeance that UPND is planting today will germinate and eat them when their time to leave office comes.
Issued by
Antonio Mwanza
Media Director
Patriotic Front