By The Vital
WHO’S GOING TO PAY FOR DEC’S SILLY AND UNNECESSARY ARREST OF ANDREW KAMANGA?
One needs little intelligence to know that DEC’s arrest of Andrew Kamanga in 2024 was a ploy to tarnish his image as UPND fought to hound him out of FAZ to bring in their own.
It is very clear that everyone involved in fixing Kamanga knew consciously well that the former FAZ president had not stolen a coin – they were lying!
They knew that Kamanga had done nothing wrong but they still pushed for his arrest simply because they believed they had the power and were in charge of the investigative wings!
The arrest of Kamanga and three others passes for a perfect case of Abuse of Authority of Office.
Just to remind our readers a bit on how we got here:
In 2024, the Drug Enforcement Commission (DEC) arrested Kamanga and three others football officials on allegations they obtained money by false pretenses after FAZ, as part of routine preparations sent football administrators in Jairos Siame and Madalitso Kamanga as advance party for the 2023 Africa Cup of Nations held in 2024 in Ivory Coast.
Kamanga was arrested alongside his general secretary Reuben Kamanga, Siame and Madalitso Kamanga.
The Ministry of Sports led by Elvis Nkandu and Permanent Secretary Kangwa Chileshe said the decision to send Siame and Madalitso Kamanga defrauded the government as the two were not members FAZ, and therefore could not access any funds the government dispatches to Football House.
The senior men’s national team is jointly funded by the government and FAZ.
When attempts to reason with Nkandu and Chileshe failed, FAZ offered to refund the K342, 000 mentioned through a debt swap that President Hichilema had initiated with Andrew Kamanga at the time the government was owing FAZ in excess of K23 million.
Totally ignoring all sane attempts to resolve the matter in logical ways, Kangwa Chileshe went to DEC and lodged a complaint which triggered the arrests.
What cannot be ignored is the fact that at the time Mr ‘Jason Kabanana’ Chileshe was filing the complaint at DEC, he was consciously aware that he was reporting falsehoods that he could not substantiate whatsoever. How can a Pastor lie against innocent citizens?
What is even more baffling is that a professional DEC led by Mr Nason Banda, one of the most respected investigators in this country, entertained the idea of arresting Kamanga on very frivolous and flimsy grounds.
We sympathise with Kamanga and the other people he was arrested along with because for the two years, they have had to endure the trauma and shame for a crime they did not commit.
In a country like ours where prejudice is so rife, a suspect in the eyes of the public is literally a convict!
Yes, a highly respected business leader who has built his reputation and business empire over the many years of sacrifice and hard work had his reputation charred on the altar of lies and malice. He became a suspect!
He had his passport confiscated. He needed permission from the DEC to travel out of the country at the time he needed frequent travelling as he pursued a position in FIFA executive. He was imprisoned in his own country.
After hounding him out FAZ through mingalato, the State shows up and says that ‘sorry sir, DEC did not have any evidence for your arrest.’
What nonsense is this?
The UPND’s unmatched appetite of abusing State Institutions to fight personal battles is worrying!
What if Kamanga decides to sue the State, who is going to pay the compensation? By the way, he has a very strong case!
The problem with giving power to people with no titles is that they have very little regard for the consequences of destroying reputations built over time!
They have no respect for strong character or reputation.
As a people, we should never normalize that a person holding a government position can abuse the authority of their office and commit a crime for which Zambians have to pay – all in the name of pursuing a personal or political party agenda. That is reckless! That is dangerous.
In fact, PS Kangwa Chileshe should be arrested and charged for giving false information to a public officer and also for the abuse of authority of his office.
And to what benefit was the abuse of DEC in order to hound out Kamanga? Look at the chaos in Football House today? Is the FAZ UPND wanted for the Zambian people who love their football?
We are reluctant to write about the happenings in football simply because we want to save the face of our beautiful game because it has to exist beyond the Clan.
One just needs to peep into the many WhatsApp groups to understand the extent of the rot. How do you explain the use of spies among each other? Yes, FAZ is financially in comatose, but how do you explain the unregulated amassing of wealth by people close to competitions? They are building flats all over the city. They are piling up wealth they cannot explain.
Needless to say that we cannot discuss serious allegations of fleeting affairs or promiscuous behavior that makes Sodom and Gomorrah appear like fanfare in the playground at a kindergarten.