EMMANUEL BANDA’S DISAPPEARANCE HAS A LOT OF LEADS

EMMANUEL BANDA’S DISAPPEARANCE HAS A LOT OF LEADS

WHETHER stage-managed as others are implying or real, Petauke Member of Parliament Emmanuel Jay Banda’s disappearance has many leads to establish the truth about his whereabouts.

For those who do not know, Brebnar Changala has made a damning accusation against the State that actually, it is behind this. In his own words, Mr. Changala said:

“I have picked up some information that J.J made the last phone call, I think around 1am and when he was coming, he did go… because he noticed that people were following him. So from this road, he made a turn into Bauleni where he made a U-turn and according to the information, when he was joining the road once again, it (the vehicle) was stopped and stayed there until 4am. This information is from the tracking… because this vehicle is installed with a tracking device and it is very clear that this kind of behaviour can only be done by State-sponsored criminals and this is a direct accusation.

“In recent days, we have seen that this Government has become intolerant. Intolerant where it has moved the State and the state machinery to assault the very citizens they are supposed to protect, the very citizens that gave them the mandate to govern and govern within the boundaries of the law. I am seeing an emerging trend of state sponsored-anarchy, if not State-sponsored terrorism.

“Let’s monitor this situation, as hours start building… As I tell you, J.J has been missing from 1am according to the tracking system and this is 10:30 which means, almost 10 hours ago and there is no information as to whether he is alive, as to whether he is in custody elsewhere, or indeed as to whether he is alive. I call upon the police who are there to maintain law and order not to be a law unto themselves to up their game, look for this individual and bring him back to the family and to the people that he represents. We are not going to sit idle.”

So, according to Changala, the State is involved and therefore, he could be a very useful source of primary information. The police told us yesterday that when they reached the scene, they only found the vehicle and when they looked around, there was nobody. So, at what point did Mr. Changala check the tracking device on J.J’s vehicle? Was Mr. Changala’s phone connected to J.J’s tracking system? These are questions Changala should be made to answer to substantiate his claims and he must be made to answer.

There is also another conspiracy theory that J.J Banda has fled into Zimbabwe. We must admit that our borders are quite porous. Porous in the sense that a lot of politicians facing various crimes have managed to sneak out of the country incognito. The first question we ask is whether this Government is in control of the Immigration Department or it is the old system which controls everything.

We ask this question because people who faced court cases such as Chilufya Tayali and Kaizer Zulu left this country and no one knows how, yet we have officers manning our borders with their bosses who report to the President.

If J.J Banda truly left this country via the Chirundu border, why don’t we have these answers since yesterday? Who is covering up for who here? The Immigration Department has not been helpful when it comes to the exits of high-profile individuals who then raise dust about their whereabouts. The Ministry of Home Affairs and Internal Security should be serious about these issues. If people do not want to work, then they should leave. They are not doing anyone any favour.

On the other hand, the police have in custody J.J’s phones. ZICTA can do justice to lead information which could give us a picture of where J.J is and we hope they are doing a good job with the investigations because the country is eagerly waiting for the truth to come out.

Also, we cannot rule out politics being at play. We know in past years how the PF made us go through hell just to paint their opponents black. We recall how this entire country was gassed, how markets were burnt, how people were killed and maimed, just for political power.

The fact that it was the same PF that broke the news about J.J’s disappearance even before the police issued the statement, even makes it more suspicious. With Edgar Lungu and his followers camping at the police station in their push for J.J to be found, anyone could guess what is at stake.

We should not forget that the PF has a tendency of cooking up lies and believing their lies and solidify them with tears, just to make a political statement and so, we would not be surprised to hear that they planned this especially that the only way Lungu thinks he can bounce back is by making the country ungovernable by creating a crisis that would make Zambians believe he is a better devil than HH.

When you see people like Changala parading themselves to champion anything, just be careful!