IT’S ME BALEFWAYA NOT MY SON, ECL TELLS JOINT INVESTIGATIONS TEAM
By New Dawn Reporter
FORMER president Edgar Chagwa Lungu says the Join Investigations Team (JIT) should not hide in summoning members of his family when it is a known fact that the scheme is aimed at arresting him.
According to officers who attended the interviews of Dalitso Lungu, the son to the former Head of State, former president Lungu told the officers that they should not persecute his family in the manner they were doing things, when it was a well-known fact that the person, they were after is him.
“The former president was not happy about the whole thing, because if you have been following these cases involving the former first family, Dalitso had his vehicles about 10 of them seized by the Drug Enforcement Commission (DEC). And DEC indicated that they are investigating the same matter. Two weeks ago, officers from DEC called Dalitso to report over the same vehicles and he told them that the vehicles in question were still with DEC. Last week it was Zambia Police who called and were inquiring about the same vehicles, and the officers were told that they should get all the information they were looking for from DEC who are in custody of the vehicles they are talking about. Surprisingly, this week, it was the Anti – Corruption Commission (ACC) who summoned Dalitso to appear before them, but before he could go to ACC, Police summoned him, and that is how we found ourselves at the Ministry of Home Affairs. This is despite them knowing that DEC was the one carrying out the same investigations,” said one of the officers that attended the interview.
He explained that there was no proper coordination in the manner they were carrying out the investigation, adding that the conduct forced former president Lungu to speak out about the probe to be a scheme to arrest him.
“It was at this point where now the former president spoke out that it is not his family we are after for any alleged wrong doing but him. Even the statement by our office suggesting that Dalitso had petitioned ACC, DEC and Zambia police to release the vehicles is not true. We called him,” the officer said.
And Zambia Police has confirmed investigating Dalitso over property suspected to be proceed of crime.
Police deputy public relations officer, Danny Mwale said Zambia Police had instituted investigations in a company, Saliod Traders Limited where Dalitso is a director.
“The Police Investigations Team is investigating Saliod Traders Limited in connection with being in possession of properties reasonable suspected to be proceeds of crime contrary to section 71 (1) of the forfeiture of Proceeds of Crimes Act number 19 of 2011 where Dalitso Lungu aged 35 of Kanakatampa area in Chongwe District is one of the Directors.
On February 9, 2023 around 10:00 hours, Dalitso Lungu appeared before the Investigations Team in Lusaka demanding the release of the seized assets which are currently under investigations. He was advised that the matter is still under investigations and that he will be communicated to as soon as investigations are concluded,” said Mwale.
