Lawyer who was arrested for stealing laptop during Kawambwa by election rants
By Celestine Mukandila
TARGETED FRIVOLOUS AND VEXATIOUS CLAIMS ENDS UP MISLEADING PRESIDENT HAKAINDE HICHILEMA TO THINK HIS PARTY IS BECOMING MORE POPULAR AND WINNING ELECTIONS.
We received actionable intelligence of there being illegal offensive weapons being kept at a named lodge in Room 1 which the UPND cadres called Emergency Room. The said room was occupied by a UPND Cadre they called Commander who up until recently I have come to learn was imported from Lusaka and from an area called Gabon in Garden Compound.
We first of all decided go and report to Chief Munkanta because he had intimated that he needed to ensure that the elections in his chiefdom must be free and fair and without any violence. The Chief agreeably indicated to us that he equally received those reports and was waiting to speak to the owner of the lodge because the said was his Young Brother.
The chief called two of his young brothers (One being the owner of the Lodge and the other being a UPND youth leader called Don).
He confronted the two and requested them to ensure that they are not involved in any illegal possession of such items. He said he had a duty to protect his family and therefore needed to ensure that he is certain that such items are not in the lodge.
The chief then called an Officer (from a named Security Wing) and told him to accompany his retainer, the owner of the lodge and the other young brother to go and search the lodge suspected rooms. We were advised go and witness the search .
The owner of the lodge called for the keys to the first room. The receptionist brought him the keys and opened the room. He then conducted a search with the chiefs retainer and even moved the beds. and there was nothing in the first room which apparently belonged to their young brother called Don. (This was done in the presence of Don).
He then called for the other room which was in fact the so called Emergency Room. The receptionist indicated that the keys were carried by the owner of the room. The retainer and the owner of the lodge requested the receptionist to called the room occupant, but within 4 minutes, the owner of the room appeared with a Black Toyota Mark X without a number place and he had covered his hands with a black jacket. He saw the presence of the chief’s retainer then he decided to go back to his car exclaiming that he had forgotten his keys and I could see him put back a gun into the Car.
He then came and opened his door and proceeded to seating on his bed and asked what the people standing outside his door wanted. The chief’s retainer responded by introducing the owner of the lodge and told him that they needed to search the room because there is a suspected allegation of their being offensive weapons in that room.
No one entered into that room to search that guy, we stood outside the room while the chief retainer spoke to him and the owner of the lodge spoke to him to inform him that they suspect that in that room there are offensive weapons. The guy sat on his bed and literally refused to be searched while pressing his phone. . I realized then that he may be mobilizing cadres then requested the MP and the Pastor that we needed to leave. That’s how we left for fear of being attacked.
When we went back to report to the chief of how we had moved, we found that guy at the palace. He had already lied to the chief that he was roughed up and forced to open the door and in the process he lost a bag and that there was money in that bag.
We confronted this guy’s lies at the Chiefs palace but he still went ahead and lied to the police that he lost his bag which had money in it. He never mentioned a laptop at the palace only to read that on social media.
The Police then decided to target only myself as Counsel, Mr. Peter Chanda and Honorable Chisenga as being suspects when in fact we never even entered any of those rooms.
Legal Logic would require that if the Police have to charge anyone for a suspected criminal offense that may have been committed in the process of the ordeal, they would have applied the provisions of Section 22 of the Penal Code Chapter 87 of the Laws of Zambia which provides for “Offences committed
by joint offenders in
prosecution of
common purpose”.
“22. When two or more persons form a common intention to prosecute an unlawful purpose in conjunction with one another, and in the prosecution of such purpose an offence is committed of such a nature that its commission was a probable consequence of the prosecution of such purpose, each of them is deemed to have committed the offence.”
Simply put; In this case everyone would have been jointly charged starting with the Chief, his retainer, the Officer who was present, Mr. Don, including the receptionist and ourselves. This would have been a proper case intended to achieve justice.
On the contrary, the State singled out persons who in fact would make good state witnesses because they did not participate in the actual physical search but merely witnessed it.
I think such is a pure targeted crime to intimidate every voice of reason that’s standing in for the defense and protection of the Republican Constitution.
I am not only Counsel but also a business Man and I can actually manage to spend the same K28 almost on a daily basis. There was an Honorable Member of Parliament who is equally of distinguished good financial standing in society. There was a President of a Political Party with capacity to run a political party in Zambia .
The State shamelessly crafted this plan just so as to isolate myself, President Peter Chanda and the Hon. MP from the totaling Centre for the Kawambwa by-election because they knew that we were the ones receiving the PVT from our monitors.
The Electoral Commission of Zambia only accredited five (5) persons from each political party to be present in the Elections Totaling Centre. NCP accredited persons included myself – Celestin Mukandila, Hon. Jean Chisenga, Hon. Given Lubinda, President Shawn Tembo, President Peter Chanda and the NPC Deputy Secretary General had a roving accreditation.
The detention of myself and Hon. Chisenga meant that two men down. President Shawn Tembo had earlier that day been attacked and brutally bruised by known UPND Cadres and had to be attended to by doctors. The same was the case with President Peter Chanda who was in fact cut with a knife by UPND cadres in my presence and had to be attended to by doctors. For Hon. Given Lubinda, while he started off to the nomination Centre, his vehicle was pursued by known UPND Cadres who had about four vehicles and he had to maneuver into safety. This meant that only those who attended the process did not have PVT results.
The State refused to Charge us that evening and opted to charge us the following day so that we wouldn’t attend to this sacred constitutional duty. It was amazing that they had to abuse the entire Provincial Police Commissioner Mr. Yuyi to descend and execute an illegal detention.
They may have succeeded to isolate us and give fake figures to ECZ and persons in the Totaling Centre but the people of Kawambwa actually won that election by over 7,000 votes. ️
That’s the reason why, No one celebrated the ECZ announcement of results in Kawambwa. The people know what transpired and that election monitors and observers including agents were violently chased from polling stations by UPND panga carrying cadres.
President Hakainde must know that people are resolved now more than ever as to who they want to vote out of power come 2026.
His people will continue to lie to him in the name of massaging his ego. But he must get this reality, that political power does not transcend people power.
The Zambian people have a final say. Democracy shall thrive. I am committed to see to it that we uphold Democracy and the Rule of Law in our country.