Don’t come with cadres on Monday, DEC boss warns Alick Banda
THE Drug Enforcement Commission (DEC) has warned Lusaka Archbishop Alick Banda against carrying his legion of followers with him as the cleric appears at its offices on Monday morning.
Yesterday, the commission gave the Archbishop a surprise festive ‘gift,’ ordering him to appear at its headquarters.
Addressing journalists in Lusaka this afternoon, DEC director general Nason Banda confirmed that his namesake had been indeed summoned by the commission.
Banda stated that the summon is in connection with a Zambia Revenue Authority (ZRA) Hilux that was gifted to the Archbishop years ago.
The commission’s boss stated that the summon was nothing political and the law enforcement officers were only interested in hearing the archbishop’s side of the story.
He bemoaned the circulation of call outs on social, explaining that a summon was a private document that needed to be shown to a suspect’s lawyers only.
“When there is a case, there are procedures that we follow. These procedures have nothing to do with the status of the target. The rule of law says nobody is above the law. This particular case has been running for some time. We ceased motor vehicles and some people have been convicted because government property was taken away from government and appropriated to individuals.”
“Nothing political, we just want him to give us his side of the story. We are not politicians, we are law enforcement officers, we operate at our own time, in our own space because we have laws that govern our activities. It’s that simple. There is no politics involved,” explained Banda.
He further dismissed social media allegations that government was fighting the Catholic Church, emphasising that nobody was above the law.
“I’m a very devoted Catholic myself, and I was even chairman for my parish and my wife was also a chairperson. I’m from the Lusaka archdiocese myself, his Grace Alick Banda is my Archbishop. No we are not fighting the Catholic Church,” he said.
He expressed shock that when some individuals are given summons, they flood them all over social media, stating that call outs are private documents which should not be shared with the public.
“Posting your summon on social media won’t stop us from asking you questions. No one is above the law.
“As his grace comes on Monday, let him come nicely quietly alone. Don’t bring people that are irrelevant to the case. It was not me who mentioned his name. He was mentioned in court not me. We want him to help us with investigations because he has been mentioned, he’s a Zambian like us, he needs to explain,” said Banda.https://kalemba.news/politics/dont-come-with-cadres-on-monday-dec-boss-warns-alick-banda/
Kalemba, January 1, 2026
I had thought the DEC had something on Arch Bishop Dr Alick Banda for the Call out. Some money Laundering case , some thing very serious, only to hear that it is the old story of the Motor Vehicle.
The Arch Bishop never denied having received the Vehicle from ZRA. He even surrendered it back to government and it is in the possession of DEC. If the commission had questions for Arch Bishop Dr Alick Banda, why didn’t they ask him when he was surrendering the Vehicle. Why have they decided to call him now?
There were 22 Vehicles disposed off by the ZRA, some went to hospitals, Councils etc.Why should it only be Arch Bishop Dr Alick Banda summoned ?
What do they want to achieve through this summoning?
Is it to lay charges , arrest and imprison Dr Alick Banda?
Or it’s just some optics to discredit the Man , to eat into his moral authority as we approach Elections?
This case is not making Sense in any way.
How sure that it’s only Alick Banda that has been summoned? The fact that Alick Banda put his summon on social media should not make you think he is the only one, others who were summoned are already even serving jail sentence. Many people have been summoned at different intervals and this time around it’s the turn of Alick Banda. We should appreciate that the law enforcement has taken his case above the law actually and I think they have been trying to let this pass, but the thing is he has been mentioned in court not once, so if he is not summoned, the Boss at ACC can go to jail for failing to act on a case that requires him to act. It is his job to do what he is doing or else he is the one who would go to jail for drawing a free salary. Let’s not dilute the simple issue, let’s gro from this politicking even on simple straightforward issues otherwise the country will take time to grow.
Well explained Director General, Nason Banda. This is as it should be.
Oh, so he has cadres, pf? , hope they’re not political
He can be called any time when a lot more evidence is available. He’s not above the law. He may be a Wolf in a sheep’s skin
Don’t compare government institutions and mere human catholic priest, if it was given to the catholic is an organisation it would have been different, what qualified him as an individual to be gifted out of 20 million Zambian and 100s of catholic priest we have in this country
My dad has been summoned to appear at the Police over land issues in Mkushi. He is appearing on Monday.
My sister will be accompanying him.
Priest Alick Banda has also been summoned.
Both will apear before lwa enforcement on Monday.
As citizens or residents in the jurisdiction of Zambia, both will
appear and appear without fail. Thats being law abiding.
Simple