The so-called “abduction” of Petauke Central independent member of parliament Emmanuel ‘Jay Jay’ Banda and his subsequent discovery has a strong stench of suspicion around it.
There are so many questions that, for as long as we are not told convincing answers, will continue lingering in our minds.
Indeed, Banda himself is a very interesting person of interest (or a suspect, if you like) in his own abduction.
So, too, are the likes of civil rights activist Brebner Changala and politician Edith Nawakwi who have rightly been summoned because of their statements in the aftermath of Banda’s disappearance.
How did we get here?
According to the official police statement, on Saturday, May 25, 2024, a concerned member of the public of Meanwood Ibex reported an abandoned motor vehicle via a phone call — a Toyota Land Cruiser with registration number BAX 3974ZM without the front number plate.
The vehicle was discovered parked by the roadside 2.6 kilometers west of Twin Palm Police Station. Its engine was running, the doors were not locked, the lights were on, and the right side of the windscreen was shattered.
Inside the vehicle, officers only found two phones and a written note stating, “Dear Zambians am very sorry please forgive me and stay blessed. Hon Jay Banda, MP.”
As expected, in droves, PF and their sympathizers pretty much made this ordeal about themselves.
Curiously, Changala made some perturbing revelations ranging from “how he [Banda] knew he was being followed”, “the last call he made”, how from 1a.m., “he made a stop until 4a.m.”. Though Changala attributed his source of information to a tracking system, he went on to say that “it’s very clear that this kind of behavior can only be done by state-sponsored criminals.”
Clearly, Changala spoke with so much authority as if he was actually in Banda’s car. For instance, how did he know the u-turns Banda made before his so-called abduction and the phone call he made — was all that information relayed by the tracker? Let me ask this question differently: how did Changala have access to the tracker for a vehicle that was parked at the police station as an exhibit or is it that he was inside that very vehicle when Jay Jay was being abducted?
Then comes Nawakwi, who alleged that the state had “abducted Banda” and his abduction was “authorized by the state.”
When all this was happening, former president Edgar Lungu stormed Twin Palm Police Station demanding answers, before telling Banda’s family members that he would use whatever means to find him.
Interesting!
According to police spokesperson Rae Hamoonga, on Sunday, May 26, 2024, at approximately 23:10, a Criminal Investigation Department (CID) officer on call at Kafue Police Station received a report from a member of the public about someone claiming to be Honourable Jay Banda at Kasanga Family Farm, located off the gravel road leading to Kafue Boys Secondary School.
Police officers quickly responded to the scene.
Upon arrival, the officers were joined by family members who arrived in three different vehicles, guided by a resident of the farm.
The family members identified the individual as the missing Honourable Jay Banda. He was found lying on the kitchen doorstep of the farmhouse, claiming to have been dumped by unknown persons a few meters from the farm. Honourable Banda complained of general body pains, and bruises were observed on his back.
The police, along with family members, promptly transported Jay Jay to Kafue General Hospital for initial medical care.
At the hospital, a disagreement arose between Honourable Banda’s relatives and the police. He was then transported to Medland Hospital in Lusaka and later transferred to Maina Soko Military Hospital, where he is admitted.
More questions:
So, if the state is the one that abducted Banda and really wanted to kill him, why did it let him go alive and live to tell his tale? For the businessman that Jay Jay is, have we asked ourselves if his disappearance could have something to do with a business deal gone wrong? For the polygamous man that he is, where are his wives in all this? If indeed he was abducted, why did this conveniently happen a stone’s throw away from a police station? Isn’t that really too obvious?
Some of us have followed Zambian politics long enough to remember the Zero Option experience. More recently, the gassing episodes, which, if critically analyzed, show that the so-called victims were most likely the orchestrators.
As social commentator Laura Miti observed via her Facebook page:
“Look PF, the fact that you are the ones who first knew about Jay Jay’s abduction and then also announced his discovery raises too many questions🤔!
“Most notably for me is how so many of you were able to get to Kafue in the small hours of the morning, doing so before Kafue residents or the police…?”
We wish and pray for Jay Jay’s quick recovery. He has a lot to tell us.
– Zambian Digest
Indeed there are so many unanswered questions here. The identity or phone number of the member of the public who reported to the police about the motor vehicle is obviously known by the police also. From there the investigators will continue to examine every part of the jigsaw and then possibly find the answers. I’m not joining the bandwagon of those saying JJ Banda was abducted or not abducted. I remain open-minded.
It’s true JJ was “abducted”, but the interestingly thing is he knows his “abductors” very well
A person of J.J.Banda’s caliber should have known that moving about or loitering around at an awkward time like 01:00 and in Lusaka for that matter is very dangerous. The gentleman carelessly and irresponsibly put his life in danger and actually he should be the first person to blame. There was no emergency in whatever he was doing, so why moving carelessly at that hour of the night? Was the risk worth taking? While it’s bad and criminal to abduct someone, it’s also bad to expose yourself to danger when you can avoid it. So instead of rushing to point an accusing finger to the government which doesn’t even any hand in the saga, beginning with the police, family members and PF/UKA, let them seriously ask him why he acted in the manner he did. Suppose it were a woman and was raped, do you blame the victim or rapists? We should avoid exposing ourselves to danger unnecessarily. And the way the whole drama unfolded casts a lot of doubts in people’s minds if this abduction was an abduction at all. Indeed the gentleman could be a suspect in his own abduction.
Best way to put it is to say he was not really abducted but driven to Kafue by friendly transport as planned by the actors who include jjbanda himself
ZP Just subject JJ to polygraph test, the truth will come out. Our neighbours in Botswana and SA are effectively using these machines. There is no room for deceit truth must come out and justice should prevail. Whoever is found wanting must face the law.
Unprofessional schemes of the dove and snake. Nothing else.
That JJ is dramatizing everything. He is just fine, as confirmed by the doctor at Maina Soko hospital