CANDIDATES IN THE SUSPENDED KABUSHI AND KWACHA BY-ELECTIONS BRIBED TO WITHDRAW
By Kombe Chimpinde Mataka
THE Anti-Corruption Commission says it summoned some candidates in the suspended Kabushi and Kwacha parliamentary by-elections after it received impeccable information that they were bribed to withdraw from the elections.
ACC director general Gilbert Phiri said those withdrawing from the elections should not insult the collective intelligence of Zambians.
“We have impeccable information and the ACC is going to fulfill its mandate whether there are elections or not. We are not going to negotiate our mandate so that we look good. We really don’t care about looking good to anyone. You are seeing new ACC,” Phiri said.
Phiri said that the ACC would fight corruption whether there was an election or not.
“If ACC receives information that someone is about to corrupt people, to commit electoral malpractice, what should ACC do? Sit with hands akimbo, we sit on our laurels? We act. How do we act? We act by investigation and the process of investigating involves talking to the people that are alleged to be veering into accepting to be induced. You know that inducement is corruption,” he said.
Two independent candidates namely Alfred Yombwe and Lawrence Kasonde of Kabushi and Kwacha respectively have been questioned by ACC following their decision to withdraw from the by-elections.
@ THE FALCON