IT WILL BE UNFORTUNATE FOR MRS HICHILEMA TO BE SUBJECTED TO WHAT THE FORMER FIRST LADY IS GOING THROUGH
…..says Mourinho as he slams DEC for their unprofessionalism over the 15 flats case
Lusaka…. Friday, July 29, 2022 (Smart Eagles)
Patriotic Front (PF) party Media Director Antonio Mourinho Mwanza has prayed that whatever the former first lady Mrs Esther Lungu is going through should never happen to the current first lady.
Mrs Lungu recently appeared before the Drug Enforcement Commission over her 15 flats. The Commission alleges that the flats are suspected to have been proceeds of crime.
Speaking when he featured on Radio Christain Voice’s Chatback earlier today, Mr Mwanza said what is happening to the former first lady is unwarranted and unnecessary.
“In the case of ba mayo ba Esther Lungu, again it’s a sorry site. And I pray to God, honestly so, that what ba mayo ba Esther Lungu is going through should never happen to our current first lady when her husband leaves office. because it is unwarranted and unnecessary,” he said.
“It is something that we shouldn’t encourage our Zambians. First of all, ba Esther Lungu is a professional teacher who has worked for many years to begin with. Secondly, she has been the wife to a husband who is an accomplished lawyer, who is the former minister of justice, former minister of defence, former minister of Home Affairs, former minister in the office of the vice president and a President of the Republic of Zambia for seven years.”
Mr Mwanza wondered if only the UPND are the only people in the country who are supposed to have money.
He said DEC’s intention is to dent the name of the former first family and that of the PF.
“If ba mayo ba Esther cannot build a flat, what about people like myself?….. what about conductors, what about civil servants? Does it mean there is no one who is supposed to have money in Zambia? The only people who can build a house are those in the UPND? If you can drag the former first lady to DEC that has a flat, then there is something seriously wrong,” he said.
“And now coming to her issue, because we want to be very practical that we are not stopping the ACC and DEC from doing their work…..the unprofessional conduct of the DEC – they had a press briefing and claimed that they had found abandoned flats, that they don’t know the owner.”
He argued that there is no law that says if you build a house and you do not occupy it then you have committed a crime.
Mr Mwanza said there is no law that tells the DEC that when you build a house you have to occupy it.
“But they went to have a briefing and said there are 15 abandoned flats. The idea was to paint a picture that whoever the owner of the flats was has run away……which is purely a political ploy to paint that picture that whoever is the owner of those flats has run away…..then they changed, they issued another statement. No we have found the owner of the flats. It’s actually Esther Nyawa Tembo and they put people in speculation because people put ba mayo ba Esther Lungu as Esther Lungu,” he said.
“They are deliberately painting a picture that this Esther Tembo must have buit the flats through shady deals. And they go on and say they registration of those flats are not corresponding. The title deeds and the number which is appearing is not correct it is for another district. And all these are total lies. Just a simple check at the ministry of lands would have given the DEC the correct position.”