I AM very safe, MMD leader Nevers Mumba has assured his family and the nation.
Mumba is the Congolese town, Lubumbashi, where he has been restricted from travelling back to Zambia on political suspicions.
Congolese authorities picked up Mumba from Kolwezi two days ago and was moved to Lubumbashi where he was questioned about alleged meetings with former president Joseph Kabila and a military general.
In an interview from Lubumbashi, Mumba said he has basically been caught up in a political crossfire in the country. He however says no arrest has been made.
“We are here. Unfortunately, your colleagues decided to run a story without any verification. Yes, they have restricted me from going back to Zambia until they verify the information they have. Yesterday (Friday), I was interviewed for four hours and none of the allegations leveled against me is true,” Mumba said.
“They are accusing me of meeting the former president Joseph Kabila, who I have not; that I met an army general, who I have not met and don’t know. I came purely on a business trip to Katanga Province to deliver letters of intent to supply certain commodities to the Katangese government, which they requested sometime back when I was here in October.”
He explained that given his position as a former Republican vice-president, his presence raised eyebrows.
Mumba said it remained for him to establish whose agenda it was, whether from Zambia or from here.
He said Katanga Province where he travelled to was considered a stronghold for Kabila and that he has basically been caught up in crossfire of the fallout between Kinshasa and the former president.
He said Congolese President Felix Tshisekedi had been made aware of the issue and “he has communicated through his pastor that he is aware and that I should not fear, no harm will come my way.”
“So I am safely being kept in a comfortable place and waiting for conclusion of this matter. They are looking after me well and everything is being made available to me and my team is safe. I am waiting to hear the next decision. Our Zambian Consul General is aware of the situation and working with the government of DRC to resolve the issue,” explained Mumba.
“I call on our Party members, family and friends that I am safe; I seek their continued prayer support. I want them to know that there is absolutely nothing I have done outside the law. We entered this country using normal channels. My visa expires today. We were well within out time. So it’s not an immigration issue. Accusations against me are all false and I am confident the Congolese intelligence will find out. I am in high spirits and will be back soon.”