Lungu fermented, drunk power to his downfall – Moyo
By Edwin Mbulo in Livingstone
EDGAR Lungu fermented power and drunk it leading to his downfall, says Joseph Moyo.
Commenting on the removal of High Court judge Sunday Nkonde by President Hakainde Hichilema, Moyo, The African Woman Foundation (TAWF) president, said power just like corn, rice, sorghum and grapes is safe if well utilised and not fermented.
“One Edgar Lungu was so obsessed with power to an extend that he started to ferment it. Once fermented, he drunk but it had already become very poisonous for him. He become arrogant and stopped listening and it led to his downfall,” Moyo said.
He said leaders should not ferment power but keep it in its natural state as prescribed by the Constitution.
“Once the law keeps check of power fermentation it leads to good governance because leaders would demand that all fermentation processes be stopped. But if the other happens it becomes strong alcoholic like chibuku out of corn, sake out of rice as it is in Japan, seven days or wine out of sorghum and grapes respectively,” Moyo said.
“Corn or maize, rice, sorghum and grapes are very safe as you can make cornflakes, mealie meal. Non-alcoholic drinks from grapes, sweet beer or munkoyo from sorghum and not sake from rice. Power on the hand can be used to build and better people’s lives and contribute to the nation’s economic growth. But alas Edgar Lungu abused it and sent it into a fermentation process thus becoming very alcoholic for him and his leaders who also drunk from the same cup as he instead of refusing to do so.”
He said the justice system was also given fermented power leading to injustices and bad justice decisions such as the closure of The Post and arrests of then opposition leader Hakainde Hichilema.
“Judges in my view were protected by the PF government and received instructions from them instead of the Constitution. Judges disregarded the Constitution and respected human beings in the PF regime. They feared PF cadres and drunk the fermented power given to them. So justice Nkonde brought what has happened onto himself. He never believed that Zambia was ever going to be under the UPND regime as did PF. For him it was going to be always Chagwa or the PF in power,” said Moyo.
President Hichilema dismissed judge Nkonde for gross misconduct followings a recommendation by the Judicial Complaints Commission.
According to a statement dated June 3, 2022 issued by presidential spokesperson Anthony Bwalya, the removal of the puisine judge is in exercise of the powers vested in the President by the Constitution.
Nkonde’s sacking emanates from a complaint which was lodged against him by former Post newspaper editor-in-chief Fred M’membe for professional misconduct.
Dr M’membe had complained against judge Nkonde for being biased in the manner he handled the liquidation proceedings of Post Newspapers Limited in November 2016.
Dr M’membe’s contention was that Nkonde could not preside over the liquidation case of the newspaper as he once attempted to render the company insolvent in 2012 when he commenced a law suit against it on behalf of Investrust Bank without the bank’s authority.
Nkonde on January 10, 2018 allowed provisional liquidator Lewis Mosho and five former employees of The Post, including the Zambia Revenue Authority to fraudulently enter into a consent order declaring the company insolvent.
In November 2018, the JCC found judge Nkonde with a case to answer and wrote a letter to former president Lungu, recommending that judge Nkonde be suspended from duty to allow it to investigate him.
But Lungu ignored the disciplinary body’s request until he left office.