Justice Minister Mulambo Haimbe has refuted allegations that there are maneuvers by him to use Former Statehouse Press Aide Amos Chanda to implicate former President Edgar Lungu.
Mr. Haimbe has described as untrue such allegations by Patriotic Front (PF) Chairperson for Information and Publicity Raphael Nakacinda.
He said that Mr. Nakacinda is merely trying to seek political relevance because the opposition PF is losing popularity.
This is according to an audio file on Social Media by Mr. Haimbe
And Former president Edgar Lungu’s Press Aide said that he is unaware of any criminal charges that Lungu may be facing for him to testify against the latter on such matters.
This followed allegations by PF Chairperson for Information and Publicity Raphael Nakacinda that the former Press Aide is blackmailed by Justice Minister Mulambo Haimbe to disclose any possible illegalities the former president and his associates may have committed. Mr. Nakacinda added that Mr. Haimbe set up a meeting between Mr. Chanda and President Hichilema with regards to the matter in question.
But Mr. Chanda said in a statement issued to the media that he has never in his entire life spoken to the Minister of Justice and that Mr. Nakacinda’s attacks against his personal and professional reputations represent some of the darkest forms of evil one can willy-nilly manufacture against an innocent person.
“I have seen on social media, a disturbing video by Raphael Nakachinda making unprovoked, scurrilous allegations imputing an improper relationship between me on the one side and President Hakainde Hichilema and Minister of Justice Malambo Haimbe on the other,” he said.
“Hon. Haimbe has neither blackmailed me nor arranged any meeting for me with President Hichilema. In my entire life, I have neither spoken nor met Hon. Haimbe. I do not, as falsely alleged, have any pending appointment with the President today nor in the foreseeable future.”
Mr. Chanda said he is “completely” unaware of any criminal charges that former president Lungu may be facing for him to testify against the latter on such matters.
“No one in the UPND has asked me about any alleged indiscretions or criminal behavior by any member of the previous administration. Therefore, any such fears are self-inflicted nightmares about things that may or may not have happened,” he said.
“It is therefore mischievous in the extreme, and brazenly evil that Raphael Nakachinda, a documented perennial fraudster, has elected to front me in his bid to perpetuate his parasitic relationship with the former president.”
He said it is unfortunate that Mr. Nakachinda who he described as a patently dishonest person seems to have carved for himself a successful career out of impugning the reputations of others.
“But I want to serve notice that he, and his sponsors won’t enjoy any fruits of evil out of their malicious mention of me, now or in the future,” he said.
“In the meantime, I have sought legal advice on this libelous video which he widely circulated last night, February 8, 2022.”