STATE HOUSE INSTRUCTIONS TO PERSECUTE PERCEIVED THREATS OF MR HAKAINDE, WILL END BADLY
We as the Patriotic Front would like to put it on record that this unsubstantiated witch hunt the nation is being subjected to of those perceived to be PF is very unfortunate to say the least. These careful selection of overzealous officers who are alleged to be directed to do the things they are doing by State House will end badly as soon the chief perpetuator will be caught in the web.
This is not the first time we are witnessing this, but certainly will be the last. Because future administrations will not want to repeat these folly activities at the expense of national development and national building.
Let President Hakainde take this as a timely warning to safeguard his already soiled integrity on his lack of honesty with his boneless promises.
We want Mr Hakainde Hichilema to think through these spineless activities, and how so quick the public confidence is eroding of the said institutions. Does President Hakainde want to leave a legacy as one President under which institutions lost thier value in society? The reasons why we have strong misgivings as a party of these DEC-ACC raids on private properties and extra judicial recoveries of monies to inconvinience people is because of the following;
1.) STATE HOUSE DEC/ACC
Now the nation may recall the President Hakainde during a press briefing announced his decision to formally put the Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) under his office, an act which has been condemned as it will most definitely compromise the independence of the Commission. President Hichilema has, through Gazette Notice No. 1123 of 2021 formally put the ACC, the newly created Anti Financial and Economics Crimes Commission, and Office of the Public Protector, DEC under State House. He directed that DEC and ACC among other investigative wings will now be operating from State House and will be reporting to him directly. So any Zambian is within right, to suspect as a matter of fact conclude that these officers are infact being directed to do what they are doing under the heavy hand of Mr Hakainde. We do not want to fathom the sad reality of a President whose primary focus is to persecute his fellow citizens for political reasons. Firstly, it tells us that the officers are working under very difficult circumstances and regardless of how irregular and illegal the instructions are, they can’t refuse. Even when investigations are overwhelmingly showing how innocent some individuals are, they cannot advise the instructor because he is the ultimate. But what has happened, like the recent Amos Chanda Saga, DEC and ACC are now embarrassing themselves daily, they are now turning into a laughing stock. The fight against corruption is stinking of corruption itself, and we urge the international community to distance its self from this dishonorable witch hunt.
2.) Statement by Mr Cornelius MWEETWA UPND spokesperson.
As if that’s not enough, interestingly UPND has opened the wound wide open for everyone to see the rot. We understand that Mr Cornelius Mweetwa is not a government spokesperson but a UPND spokesperson. The UPND spokesperson Honourable Cornelius MWEETWA, in an innocent manner unknowingly exposed the role of UPND in this disgusting witch hunt. At a press briefing on 28th October at their party secretaraite, Mr Mweetwa said that speaking from an informed position, he willfully allegedly insinuated that Ms Faith Musonda had been turned into a state witness so as to use her to identify other so called ‘criminals’. We want to believe that neither ACC, DEC nor Zambia Police have made such a revelation as regards Ms Faith Musonda. What this instead means, is that UPND leadership is playing an under hand role in pointing fingers for DEC and ACC at those they perceive to be threats of thier leader. What is even more disheartening is that Mr Mweetwa went further to allege that govt will recover monies from all those who want to sabotage Mr Hakainde’s leadership. He issued threats against all duly elected Members of Parliament who spoke the loudest in parliament. He said they will soon be ambushed and they will be embarrassed. Now where is UPND getting all this information about former ministers and MPs. We don’t take these statements lightly as mere rhetorics, this is a clear indictment on President Hichilema , the UPND and it’s government on the selective application of the law and it’s back door role in the witch hunt. Mr Mweetwa exposed himself and clearly it’s a can of worms, there will be no justice to come out of these witch-hunts temporarily, but we still have faith that the courts will shame the evil hand and restore sanity by dispensing justice against these glaring irregularities which can easily be mapped in both statements and actions. They are amateurs. UPND should up thier game, they are too careless for everyone to see their cheap schemes.
But we know for a fact that this spineless witch hunt disguised as a fight against corruption, is being done for only two reasons;
Number one, to use it as a scale to secure an IMF LOAN. The stinking fight is being used to paint a picture that the current administration cares about fiscal discipline and pilferage of resources so as to create a facade to hoodwink the donor community to give us the bailout. Mr Hakainde is under pressure to fulfil his boneless promises and the IMF LOAN being one of his commitment promises, he doesn’t want to suffer the embarrassment. So he is on a tangent to impress the whites, but at the expense of getting down to work as the citizens are complaining of the excruciating need for the President to resolve the liquidity crisis currently in the country.
Number two, this propaganda around a witchhunt towards PF members and it’s friends is meant to create a perception that monies are in the hands of PF members who are having sacks and sacks of money in thier homes.
Mr Hakainde Hichilema and his UPND want to use PF as an excuse for their non performance. They have realized time is fast running, and so far they have achieved nothing tangible or fulfilled any promise, so thier way out is a spineless witch hunt on PF members staging unverified amounts of money. Setting the PF and it’s friends against the propaganda of the court of public opinion. We say so because, before official statements from either Zambia Police, DEC or ACC the UPND media and it’s surrogate platforms are the first to post propaganda statements all in a quest to hoodwink unsuspecting Zambians. By the time official statements are coming, the public would have been fed with falsehoods. But lies have short legs, we want to urge them to get to work, they are the ones in government and these antics they used to play in the opposition will not save them from the embarrassment of failure as we are day by day drawing close to 2026.
4.) WE TOOK DEC TO COURT AS PF
Lastly, as PF we have not remained idle or as a complainant in all these activities and allegations being thrown here and there, we have opted to seek legal redress from the courts of law. If the nation my recall on 28th September 2021 we as a party through our Secretary General Davies Mwila sued the state in the Lusaka High Court against the decision of the Drug Enforcement Commission to quiz Mr Mwila and Antonio Mwanza over the party’s source of campaigns funds prior to the August 12, 2021 general elections. As a party we commenced this action citing the Attorney General as the respondent in the matter.
The nation may seek to know why we did this, its for activities like these by DEC harassing PF members and friends of the party. We want the court to end this witch hunt forthwith, because among the reliefs we are praying for are damages for intimidation and harassment of PF members and friends of the party by the DEC. This will serve as a basis to guide the behavior of Mr Hakainde’s DEC with hunt. But we know that even this judgement if in our favor will be disregarded Like many others with impunity but only time will tell.
I Thank You!!
Issued By;
Hon. RAPHAEL NAKACINDA, MCC INFORMATION AND PUBLICITY CHAIRMAN