Prominent Lusaka lawyer, John Sangwa SC has laughed off assertions by ba Edgar Lungu ‘ati’ he was a topnotch lawyer!
“When he was practicing, Edgar Lungu was an indisciplined lawyer who would come to court unprepared and reeking of alcohol,” reveals Sangwa in a podcast interview.
He further disclosed that as one of the lawyers representing those jointly charged with President Chiluba in the corruption and plunder cases early 2000s, ba Lungu would pitch up in court totally blank…..without a clue as to where the case had ended, previously. Court clerks would normally come to his aid most of the time.
What do we make of this?
Well, we shall begin by explaining the meaning of topnotch lawyer. Topnotch simply means something of a high quality or value. You do not therefore expect topnotch lawyers to come cheap. A few individuals from ba Lungu’s time as a lawyer that could easily fit into the “Ivy League” of lawyers obviously include the likes of Vincent Malambo, Sakwiba Sikota, Robert Simeza, John Sangwa, Erick Silwamba and the madam at the Electoral Commission of Zambia, Mwangala Zaloumis.
These guys normally live in upscale neighbourhoods, they’re usually chauffeur driven in state of the art SUVs and it would cost you an arm and a leg to access their services. These are not the kind of lawyers that to easily “chew” money of a widow as it happened with ba Lungu in 2010. Ba Lungu can’t wake up today and claim he was a topnotch lawyer; he couldn’t make the cut! Those who knew him them would tell he lived in a modest bungalow in ‘kwa’ Jack but usually found himself in Chawama compound where he would enjoy his favourite Jameson, from time to time!
To further add weight to Sangwa’s assertions, this author has interacted with senior prosecutors from the National Prosecutions Authority who’ve dealt with ba Lungu as a lawyer. They’ve no or little regard for the man! According to them, he would pitch up in Court with unkempt hair and ruffled suits only to seek adjournments as he wasn’t ready to proceed with his cases most of the time.
We therefore find it absolutely ludicrous that today, ba Lungu can claim he used part of the money he earned as a lawyer to prop-up his wife’s and children’s businesses therefore helping making them become proud owners of properties spanning from highly mechanised farms, breathtaking mansions in secluded neighborhoods, impressive SUVs and boasting of substantial amounts of cash in Banks and garages!
Naimwe ba so-called investigative wings, are you telling us you can’t establish the trail of ba Lungu’s unexplained wealth from the time he acted as a lawyer living in kwa Jack to date?
Prince Bill M Kaping’a
Polical/Social Analyst