By Kasebamashila Kaseba
WHO IS WHO IS ESTHER LUNGU IS ESTHER NYAWA IS ESTHER TEMBO IS ESTHER PHIRI BORN IN 1956 AND 1957 AND 1961?
WHEN Drug Enforcenent Commission (DEC) at the start of July seized a Ms Esther Nyawa Tembo’s 15 flats, in State Lodge, Lusaka, it was not immediately known to be the well-known immediate former First Lady better known as Esther Nyawa Lungu.
In short, Nyawa was taken as Esther Lungu’s maiden name not Tembo.
That version of Nyawa being maiden name is partly backed even by Anthony Mukwita’s biography of EL, “Against All Odd – Zambia’s President Edgar Chagwa Lungu’s Rough Journey to State House” (2017) who also confusingly has both Nyawa and Phiri without or instead of Tembo.
Mukwita’s book has a chapter, “Edgar in The Eyes of ‘Queen’ Esther”.
“Esther Nyawa Lungu, First Lady of the Republic of Zambia, was born on 2 June, 1957 to parents, Island and Agnes Phiri. Mrs Lungu is a woman well known for her good deeds. Notable have been her attempts to uplift the livelihoods of girls and vulnerable women. Also, in such acts as simply mourning with and otherwise showing solidarity with ordinary Zambians in trying times.” (Page 93)
Mrs EL was also recently re-known, from her University of Zambia degree qualification, as Esther Nyawa Tembo, with Tembo considered as the maiden surname without Phiri.
That is, Esther Lungu is Esther Tembo, the owner of the 15 flats meaning Tembo is supposed to be her personal names on her national registration card.
In other words, Mrs EL, as the former mother of the nation, as a person is unknown as her husband also of different identity versions of parents or birthdays or birth places or chiefs etc depending on who one talks to or reads.
For example, apart from multiple personal names or identity, there are also about three birth dates online of the wife like husband.
For another example there are no proper records of EL graduation and wedding and divorces and records of children, as say Mandela, KK, LPM, Obama, HH etc.
Fellow lawyers, Mandela, LPM divorced twice and once respectively as public records.
For one thing, education, marriage and divorce or land or property etc may not just have functions or events but also certificates or records or photographs or even media personality profiles.
Mrs EL’s marriage is said to be thirty something years without definite details like wedding and divorce of Ms Dorothy Machanda (mother of Tasila Lungu) cousin of Mike Mulongoti.
Mrs EL told Zambia Daily Mail they first met at Legal Aid.
He was a lawyer there and she was a client.
Ireene Mambilima was in charge Legal Aid.
Otherwise, it seems everything, from personal identity to nationality to wealth to assumption of PF and Zambian presidencies to marriages to divorces to retirement about EL, is mired in secrecy and mystery and controversy.
That is because of lack of transparency and accountability.
That is how HH too, like EL, cannot fight corruption for lack of transparency and accountability.
The First Lady registered and founded Esther Lungu Foundation Trust (ELFT) in December 2015 combining both foundation and trust and the Office of the First Lady she assumed in January 2015!
In other words, the first investigation (alongside whether or not it is Mary Chirwa in the video) after identity or identity fraud or clearance or declaration could have been the audit of the books of the First Lady and of the Foundation Trust.
Mrs EL publicly dedicated herself and the ELFT or fundraised for the poor or underprivileged when the flats are neither for the poor nor the women nor the ELFT.
Is the ELFT since liquidated by expiration of her tenure or is still is operational?
As First Lady and ELFT seemed to overreach or interfere with work of government ministers perhaps more than any other predecessor first ladies.
For example, she once extravagantly or controversially traveled to the U.S to receive second hand fire tenders for the councills than receive them in Lusaka, Zambia and when the Lusaka mayor had also been in the U.S.
Perhaps, she is also controversially the first former First Lady to build her husband or family or herself 15 flats when she and her husband are entitled to a retirement house built by the State.
Otherwise, Mrs EL as First Lady should have been home making for marriages or teaching family values more than house building for her husband.
Financial Intelligence Centre (FIC) trends reports reported corruption or suspicious investments in properties, 48 ‘mushroom’ houses.
There was already FIC trends report that captured terrorism financing followed by the mention of EL in Rwandan court of terrorism financing.
That is, beyond names and corruption allegations, confusion shall remain with the ELs for long time.