Harry Nkumbula Foundtion; ‘ino nguni’ who killed Baldwin Nkumbula – Part 2
As we saw last Monday, the first reason for suspecting that Baldwin Nkumbula was assassinated is that some MMD big-wigs who also wanted the republican vice presidency in the second term of president Frederick Chiluba’s rule, according to The Post newspaper, did not want him to re-join MMD to take up this post.
This suspicion makes sense, because his rivals could not beat Baldwin in any election for the vice presidency, since it was only the republican president who picked the vice president. And this president, Chiluba, was actually the one who wanted Baldwin’s return. He reportedly went as far as meeting Ila chiefs to promise that Baldwin would be vice president, tried to re-name UNZA after Baldwin’s father and threatened to sort out some MMD big-wigs who opposed Baldwin’s return.
Why did Chiluba want Baldwin so much? Well, he wanted to destroy the National Party faction, an MMD break away. Baldwin was the most popular in the faction, having beaten MMD in the Bweenga by-election and coming from Zambia’s third largest ethnic grouping, the Tonga-Ila-Lenje (Bantu Botatwe). Chiluba planned to control MMD even after leaving office, just like his hero former president Julius Nyerere controlled his party in Tanzania. So to ensure MMD remained intact, he preferred it be taken over by a Bantu-Botatwe. This must explain why when his Baldwin project failed, he later chose Levy Mwanawasa, another Bantu-Botatwe ethnic leader to succeed him.
The second reason is that assassinations were common during the Chiluba-Baldwin leadership era. Richard Ngenda, who was investigating fraud in connection with Meridien BIAO Bank, was assassinated in March 2002. Were his killers sent by MMD big-wigs who were plotting to liquidate/plunder this bank owned by Andrew Sardanis, a friend of their rival Kenneth Kaunda?
He was a lawyer when lawyers were lawyers! Imagine Ngenda launching an appeal and winning an acquittal for the-then former president Kaunda’s son Kambarage Kaunda who had been initially sentenced to death for killing Tabeth Mwanza! On Friday 6 November 1998, Ronald Penza was shot dead. But why was ‘Mr Penza-nomics’ (‘Penza-economics’, as commentators of his neo-liberal outlook mock-referred to his economic theories) shot dead just after being fired by president Chiluba as finance minister! Were his killers sent by political crooks afraid of his planning to expose KCM mine white collar crimes? Were the allegations true that there were political crooks benefitting from the chairman of Aero Zambia David Torkoph who was reportedly using Zambian airspace to fly arms to UNITA rebels in Angola in exchange for diamonds, and that Penza plotted to expose them? Wezi Kaunda, former president Kaunda’s (KK’s) son was very vocal against Chiluba’s rule. He was shot on 3 November 1999. Reports say that UTH doctors initially said he would not die, but that at night somebody removed the life-support tubes so that he dies. KK mourned, saying, ‘my son was assassinated twice’. On 6 July 2001, former MMD MP and deputy minister Paul Tembo who had just defected to the opposition FDD was shot dead. Was it a mere coincidence that he was shot the day before he was due testify to a tribunal investigating MMD ministers Katele Kalumba, Golden Mandandi, and Peter Machungwa for allegedly diverting USD 700,000 to the MMD party?
The third reason for suspecting foul play is that Baldwin was persuaded to go for late night drinking by president Chiluba’s son, Castro, and a nephew to defence minister Ben Mwila, Mubanga Kafuti. This is strange. How could Baldwin who has just been a political rival of MMD, find himself ‘best friends’ with ‘children’ of the top-most ruling MMD leaders in the middle of the night upon joining their party? Were these ‘boys’ sent to closely watch/manage his movements, given that these ‘boys’ survived unhurt?
Fourth, the report of the president Chiluba-appointed commission of inquiry led by High Court judge David Lewanika raised eye brows when it concluded that Baldwin’s death seemed a mere accident caused by ‘low visibility’ which made the driver of his Mercedes Benz not see the sharp road bend ahead in the night. This is questionable, since Baldwin himself who drove the vehicle is dead. How can anyone know that he did not see properly since he is not there to say it himself? And how come this ‘low visibility’ did not cause accidents to other motorists?
Fifth, the above-mentioned Commission relied on the report of the pathologist who suggested that Baldwin’s body had no gun shots. The Commission’s ‘no gun shots’ theory eliminates the belief that Baldwin did initially survive the accident, but somebody came to shoot him at the accident scene. Like The Post newspaper wondered, was this pathologist well-equipped to distinguish gunshot wounds from vehicle-caused wounds?
Sixth, the forensic ballistic expert called Richard Thorny Shepherd whom the David Lewanika Commission engaged did not personally view Baldwin’s body. He came very late, given that president Chiluba appointed the Commision some 41 days after Baldwin’s death. His conclusion that Baldwin’s body had no guns shots was based on ‘hearsay’. He got this from the same pathologist who I have indicated may not have been well equipped to differentiate bodily wounds caused by the vehicle and those caused by gun shots. Even his conclusion that he examined the wrecked Benz and found no gunshot-caused damages is not convincing. Who says killers who shoot you in your car will always also shoot the car metal as well?
Seventh, reports suggest that the Nkumbula family brought in Scotland Yard to independently investigate, but the then government ignored the findings. May the Nkumbula Foundation release these findings to the public?
This author, as you can see above, collects many data. So read this column every Monday and share with others. Next week read my opposing ZNBC’s Margaret Chisulo’s for ‘banning ’ Lozi language in preference for Nyanja/Bemba callers. Phone: +260-978-741920. Email: austin.mbozi@gmail.com