By Patson Chilemba
Tasila Lungu is a good girl who deserves a second chance, says deputy government chief whip Tutwa Ngulube.
And Ngulube has warned his fellow ruling PF member Colonel Panji Kaunda not to push his luck too far, saying it has been too much of him attacking President Edgar Lungu’s daughter Tasila.
Speaking with Daily Revelation, Ngulube said one did not need to be the President’s daughter to enjoy the provision where they could have their criminal matters resolved, in the same manner the Ministry of Lands was discussing to resolve Tasila’s offence. Tasila fenced the approximately 3790 hectares Forest Number 70, popularly known as Chimutengo in Sinda’s, Eastern Province.
He said it was unfortunate that Tasila, who is a private citizen, should be punished and suffer all prejudices just because her father was the Head of State.
“I think let us be fair with Tasila she is a very good girl. I don’t think she is one of those presidents daughters we heard in the past who were breaking the law. I think Tasila for me deserves a second chance if at all she committed that offence,” Ngulube said. “She is not one person you can say we have to punish. No. Tasila is a very good girl. We have seen presidents daughters in the past who used to willfully break the law.”
Asked to mention which previous presidents daughters he was referring to who were willfully breaking the law, Ngulube refused to mention names as history will judge, immediately channeling his attention towards attacking Col Panji.
“Well I don’t want to mention names because history will judge itself but I know that Colonel Panji Kaunda is a very bitter man. Okay. And we know that although he claims to be PF he’s actually been campaigning for the UPND and his language shows that he’s in the opposition,” Ngulube said. “So we just want to warn him that he can enjoy his peace without insulting the President’s daughter or everybody else. We have heard of forests being degazetted and we are also aware that the Ministry of Lands through the Forestry Department can even give you permission to occupy a forest. So it’s not unheard of.”
Ngulube said one could even be given a concession in a forest, and could do all sorts of things except chopping down trees, although there was no record of Tasila having been issued with such privileges, as was made clear by Lands permanent secretary Ndashe Yumba’s that she committed a criminal offence.
“So Col Panji Kaunda should not push his luck too far I think it’s been too long now he’s been attacking an innocent girl Tasila who qualifies to be his granddaughter and as a senior citizen I think he can do better than what he is trying to do,” Ngulube said, adding that words coming from the Colonel’s mouth showed that he was angry with something. “He was a nominated member of parliament when president Sata was there so I think when President Lungu became president and his nomination was not sustained that hatred came in. At least he should remember that Zambian is for all of us and different people should serve at different times.”
Asked on Col Panji’s stated position, that he made it known to the President in the presence of former political advisor Kaizar Zulu, that he was not available for public office but was, however, going to campaign for the President in the 2016 elections, Ngulube said he did not think so, accusing the Colonel of being power hungry.
“Col Panji Kaunda is not one person who can refuse an appointment. We know him, we know his background. We know his past. Even when president Sata appointed him he didn’t even have a trousers to wear at State House. You know so we know what we are talking about,” he argued.
Asked if there was a provision in the law to discuss matters of a criminal nature, Ngulube said there was nothing wrong with doing so, as the Forestry Act provided for an option of a fine, adding that it was not just about going around punishing people who might have been mistaken. He said the offence Tasila is alleged to have committed was more of a civil nature, although it was a crime.
“You know when you buy a piece of land and someone tells you it is traditional land, you might not know it is actually in the forest so there is that option of saying okay why don’t we do this? why don’t you remove the fence, or move this side? We normally have areas that are bordering forests and such offences are very common,” said Ngulube. “So we don’t see anything wrong because the impact, that is more of a civil nature although it is a crime punishable by an offence or payment of a fine, the people should not politicise it. Yah infact if you look at the criminal procedure code section 8 provides for people to negotiate criminal offences.”
Ngulube argued that was why in cases like assault and other offences, which were of a private nature, the law encouraged people to reconcile outside court.