OPINION: My Deep Reflections On PF Secretary General Davis Mwila’s Observation On PF Leaders Who Hail From Luapula Province and Their Perceived Persecutions By Own Government.
The PF SG observations and his courage to speak out could not have come at a better time than now because we have enough time to go before the 2021 general elections. SG Mwila is quoted in the Diggers Newspaper of 10th August 2020 saying at a meeting in Mansa the provincial capital that “it pains me that only us people from Luapula are arrested on corruption”. All the uncomfortable issues that may emerge from this difficult conversation the SG is bringing about within PF ranks and file have enough time to heal before the general elections in exactly 12 solid months from now. PF cannot afford to plunge itself in these upcoming serious do or die elections next year in such a fragmented state. Anyway, I will let the SG continue with this inevitable conversation with necessary party and government staleholders.
In this article, I want to focus on one or two critical issues and similarities between the case of The People Versus Health Minister Chitalu Chilufya and The people Versus James Chungu and Eric Chimese. It is a notorious fact that these two cases are currently active in court with Chungu facing one joint money laundering charge while General Chimese faces two counts of Abuse of Authority and two Money Laundering charges. Honourable Chilufya has four similar charges.
Central to the trial of The People versus Chimese and Chungu is the fact that the Zambia Air Force Head of Human Resource, Administration and Policy testified before Magistrate Nsunge Chanda stating the Zambia Air Force official’s position on the allegations regarding the alleged Abuse of Authority is that: The Zambia Air Force has no record of any Zambia Air Force employee ever working or being engaged by retired Airforce Commander Lt. Gen Chimese to work at his personal property. The witness further told the court that if such records were there, ZAF would have freely and easily presented those records on behalf of the people or state before the court since the accused former Commander was no longer in government.
Regarding money Laundering, the ZAF Head of Administration further told the court that all books of accounts were audited by The Internal Auditor, the Chief of Audit and his staff and found nothing to do with any loss of resources of any kind. He further told the court that the Office of the Auditor General has further audited ZAF for the entire seven years on yearly basis that Lt. Gen. Chimese was Commander of ZAF from 2011 to 2018 and all records of these audits were presented to Parliament and show no single case of money laundering or loss of resources occasioned by the accused person Lt. Gen. Chimese. The ZAF Head of Human resource testimony is available from all media houses both print and online.
Now, the 100 Million dollar question that needs to be answered by all of us is that: If ZAF, the organization that General Chimese was working for and the only contact Chimese had with government of the Republic of Zambia ZAF, has said that General Chimese did not abuse his authority and that ZAF in particular or government in general did not lose any resources through General Chimese, who in this world is going to tell us the opposite story? WHO THEN IS DEC Working with on this particular case? Who is complaining on behalf of the people or The State of the Republic of Zambia?
I am immediately tempted at this stage to draw your attention to Dr. Chitalu Chilufya Versus The People and in this case, the testimonies by two critical witnesses namely Investigations Officer from The Anti Corruption Commission and a ZRA Tax official. The Investigations Officer and ZRA official have stated that they saw absolutely no offences committed by Dr. Chitalu Chilufya. The two government officials said this willingly and did not say so under duress.
Before I make any assumptions yet, I want to refer to the case of The people versus Chungu and Chimese. Rachael Tembo the Registrar at the Ministry of Lands put it before the court that the alleged properties owner is Chita Lodge. The property ownership has never changed from the time Chita Lodge acquired the property in 2010 from the late former Zambia Airways MD Captain Godfrey Mundwe Mulundika. She further told the court that the document presented earlier to the court by the state prosecutor showing that the property belonged to General Chimese was a forged Tittle Deed. It is not a requirement by any law in Zambia to use a Tittle Deed for connection of power by ZESCO. Thus, the Ministry of Lands position is that the property belongs to Chita Lodge.
Now, this brings me to a remarkably simple conclusion that we have an invisible hand directing the State Investigative Wings namely DEC and ACC to fight specific government and party officials. Our Republican President Dr. Edgar Chagwa Lungu should immediately engage the OPSD/Secret Service to quickly find out who is behind these two interesting similar cases and many more within the party. What are the motives behind these people playing this dangerous game? Who are they? Who is the Drug Enforcement Commission and the Anticorruption Commission working with? Who is the complainant? Where are the records of losses regarding what the complainant GRZ has lost?
When I was arrested for discussing the AVIC Home Affairs scandal, the Zambia Police failed to grant me bail because someone too important had to be consulted. I spent 7 nights behind bars on a bailable offence. Even my Boss, in the party was made to disown me. I survived, I am now home with my wife and kids. While we understand that justice will take its course through the courts of law for both cases, in question, it is very clear to the PF that we have an enemy within the party and government, and we need to act now.
We all know the contributions that the three individuals namely Dr. Chitalu Chilufya, Lt. Gen. Chimese and Mr. James Chungu have made both to the party and government and their inherent potential and relevance to the 2021 do or die battle. All our members know what these people mean to Luapula, the PF and current PF government. Thus, the enemies of the State have sponsored an anti Luapula Campaign to destroy the current status quo and our 2021 project. I may be a, journalist but I am passionate about the Patriotic Front, having sipped on a glass of wine with Michael Sata opposite his home at Chita Lodge, telling me what the PF stood for, then and now, of course.
I must admit that the presence of Traditional Chiefs at the court when Dr. Chitalu appeared the first day in July 2020 triggered two main reactions for and against. But to anyone who has a critical eye, that incident is worth giving a second thought and not to simply dismiss it no matter how we may have viewed the entire episode. And by the way, their Royal Highnesses never showed up at the subsequent sittings but simply withdrew. For your own information, my dad was Senior Chief Mwewa of Abena Ng’umbo. I know what I talking about.
Mpandashalo Evans Mwewa
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