By Ernest Chanda
ACKSON Sejani says he expected the court to acquit them of the abduction case instead of entering a nolle prosequi.
Last Friday, the Choma Magistrates’ Court entered a nolle prosequi in a matter where Sejani and five others were charged with abduction of siblings Milton and Pheluna Hatembo.
This is in a matter where Fines Malambo, 46, a businessman; Ackson Sejani, 63, a peasant farmer and former cabinet minister; Vincent Lilanda, 49, who was Mazabuka Mayor; Javen Simolooka, 45, the Mayor of Choma, and Veronica Mwanakasale Mukuni, 45, wife of Senior Chief Mukuni, were charged with two counts of abduction with intent to confine, contrary to the law.
Allegations in count one were that the five, jointly and whilst acting together, abducted Pheluna Hatembo with intent to cause her to be secretly and wrongfully confined.
In count two, the five were also jointly charged together for abducting Milton with intent to cause him to be secretly and wrongfully confined.
When the matter came up for trial before Choma resident magistrate Ethel Phiri, senior public prosecutor Alex Syulikwa informed the court that he was in receipt of instructions from the Director of Public Prosecutions Lillian Siyuni to discontinue the case through a nolle prosequi.
Reacting to their release, Sejani said he was not elated at all with the turn of events.
“Our court case in which we were accused of abducting the Hatembos has been discontinued in the Choma Magistrates’ Court. We take note and respect this instruction from the Director of Public Prosecutions. However, we are not elated at all with the turn of events,” he said in a statement availed to The Mast. “This is because we expected an outright acquittal given that there is no case of abduction here. It is all a political concoction. Nevertheless, we are relieved that we are ‘free’ to go about our business.”
He thanked the legal team headed by Marshal Muchende from M Associates “for their splendid efforts throughout this ordeal”.
“We thank our immediate families for also standing with us throughout this persecution. The wider UPND family and other sympathisers cannot be left out of this appreciation. We are truly grateful,” Sejani said. “This case must be put into context because it is part of the wider plot that the former PF government had hatched to stop our current President from contesting the 2021 elections. It must be noted that PF knew that they had to steal the 2016 elections in order to remain in power. The subsequent petition against those elections was also sabotaged by the PF. So, they knew, back then, that facing HH in 2021 was always going to be an uphill battle.”
Sejani charged that the PF had hatched a plan to stop Hichilema from contesting the August 12 general election.
“As a result of this realisation, PF hatched a two-pronged plot to stop HH from appearing on the ballot paper. They plotted to eliminate him if they could not find a case that would put him behind bars until after elections. Several attempts aimed at him where live bullets were shot at him are in the public domain,” Sejani explained. “It is in this light that the bogus treason charges of 2017 must be seen. Find him guilty of treason and he is off the ballot, the PF calculated. Even the savagery and barbaric manner of invading HH’s house to effect an arrest speaks volumes of this evil plot. No professional police would do what those who went to HH house did.”
Stressing his point that all the PF wanted was to stop President Hichilema from standing, Sejani highlighted events that justified his thought.
“This case could not stand in court and so it predictably collapsed. No sooner had this case collapsed than another one was hatched. Somebody decided to bring back the tired chorus of privatisation which only comes up when there are elections,” he said. “A series of PF surrogates were lined up calling for the arrest of HH over privatisation. This case, too, failed to gain traction because it had no basis. Then came the issue of Shibuyunji where the PF accused HH of having buried arms at his in-laws’ farm. Police were dispatched to go and dig up the entire field with a view to getting those arms. They, embarrassingly, found nothing.”
Sejani said the Hatembos matter should not have gone that far.
He said President Hichilema’s victory had finished some people’s political careers.
“HH victory has left political careers of some individuals in ruins, their credibility in tatters as they wallow in absolute shame. What is left is for them to lick their rotten wounds. For the wise there are lessons to be learned from this episode,” said Sejani. “But for the fools, there is nothing to learn as they will continue justifying their actions and utterances while arguing that they have no regrets. Some of this posturing is just for public consumption because inwardly some of these characters are nervous wrecks right now. You are not God to predetermine people’s destinies. These characters are dangerous. Because of their demonstrated capacity to plot political intrigue and their tendency to precipitate national division, Zambians must resolve not to allow such characters near the corridors of power.”