MMD Mbala Central Member of Parliament and former Northern Province permanent secretary Mwalimu Simfukwe has been arrested and charged with abuse of authority of office contrary to the law.
Simfukwe has been jointly charged with a former procurement officer at the provincial administration Elias Simukonde.
Northern Province Police Commissioner Mary Chikwanda confirmed the arrest of Simfukwe in an interview yesterday.
Ms. Chikwanda said Simfukwe was summoned by the Provincial Taskforce on Corruption comprising officers from the Zambia Police, Anti Corruption Commission (ACC) and Drug Enforcement Commission (DEC) for questioning in relations to abuse of office during his tenure as permanent secretary.
She said Simfukwe and Simukonde have since been remanded in police custody at Kasama Central Police Station and will appear in court today.
And in a separate interview, Simfukwe claimed that his arrest by police was politically motivated.He however expressed confidence that justice will prevail his case.
Last week, Mr. Simfukwe failed to appear before the Provincial Taskforce on Corruption after being summoned on grounds that he was unwell.
However, yesterday he made himself available to law enforcement officers at Kasama Central Police Station in the company of his lawyer Robbison
Malipenga of Malipenga and Company from Lusaka.
MMD Mafinga MP Catherine Namugala, MMD provincial Chairman Steven Mukuka and other party cadres and sympathisers were on hand to offer solidarity to Simfukwe.
The Provincial Taskforce on Corruption has been investigating Simfukwe in connection with alleged abuse of office during his tenure as provincial permanent secretary.
In January this year, the Taskforce recorded a warn and caution from him.
Simfukwe is accused among others things of not following laid down procedure in the awarding of contracts to contractors for various capital projects worth billions of Kwacha.
[ZANIS]
Expected
Is he a Zambian? Mwalimu?? Zambian name?? Awe nakana sana!!
Ni mwachiusa bakamba alingile mu zed we know this!
Just look at the photo, this guy has more nilotic facial feature than bantu facial features,he is a foreigner!!!
bamungenesa mudala. iliko baaaad….next!
Another one bites the dust. We want Liato, Mutati and Situmbeko next please
Chanda. Interestin observation.To me he looks Rwandese or Burundian!
Even just his appearance does not look like that of a Zambian.
Are there any honest Bembas? If I were the president, I would arrest all of them. This is not news.
Kolwestan, you are a fool.
And then the president even arrests himself coz hes bemba!!!!!! lolest
He is Zambian.
Mwalimu is ki Swahili for a teacher. Literal translation. The guy should be Tanzanian.
Mwalimu has swahili intonation to it and is common in Uganda, Kenya and Tanzania. However, It is imprtant to remember that the Arab slave traders in the 19th century had alot going for them in the northern and Luapula regions in Zambia. So its pointless to associate names to neighbouring countries each time we are not happy with the intonation???? I have kenyan frineds with names like Mumbi, Kabwe and Katongo. Wonder if they are called Zambians??? let us learn to be objective and avoid the evil eye of who is who.
I am mumbi a kikuyu girl. Mumbi is a female name
Well put. I met an Egyptian in Hungary Dr Adbullah Salim Mwaba (though they pronounce it as mabi). What about Barrack Usain Obama. These are just names that should not necessarily dictate where a person comes from.
Chabipa
# 11 we must know where these guys come from! To many foreigners give Zedians a bad name. In Botswana we would say, “ke mokwerekwere thota!” Must be from the Great Lakes of Tanzania! Reminds me of a driver called “Mulenga” in Botswana that I was introduced to by an honest Motswana business lady with excitement. Naturally I said “shani ba Mulenga?” The response was proper Zaire man accent and lingo. Told the woman to be very careful and to trust “Mulenga” with caution, when he drove off. He even showed me his reg, which I did not ask to see.
Three months later the Motswana woman phoned me about selling her Toyota Hilux 2.0 litre in Zambia as “Mulenga” had said it would fetch a good price. I discouraged her and told her best to sell in Botswana. Chapter closed…I thought!
@ 13 UNZA DOKOTA, Are you implying we should trust people we meet once we know they are Zambian? Are you saying Zambians don’t steal? My dear thieves/cons are everywhere. They come in all sizes, shapes, tribes, races, nationality sexes, colour etc. Don’t be preaching your phobia here!
Tru Observation UNZA DOKOTA. The writing is Bembas are the big CONS! U ve tarnished the country’s image by yr lust 4 riches u never want 2 wek for.
This is becoming boring. Stop telling us about whos is arrested, warned and cautioned and all that rubbish. Aren’t there any better news-worth items in Zambia? It’s a disgrace. If it’s not Dora, it’s Rupiah or Katele Kalumba or Kachingwe or Sata or Mbingu Wa Mutarika or Joyce Banda. How stupid is that?
Choose what u want to listen to, to us this is news becoz thz guys are paid from our taxes, all projects are financed from the same. So leave it to us , its not your news. OK find yours full stop.
why the heck are you bothered reading if its not your kind news? I thought LT has a sports section, go read that!!!!
Uyu mwalimu atoka Tanzania na rafiki yake Ukwa ( He must be from TZ na Ukwa)
Few weeks later I travelled to see the Motswana woman. Naturally I enquired about my country man “Mulenga”. Woman told daughter to tell me the “bad news” as “Mulenga has left us.” Thought “Mulenga” had died…no he had crossed the border at Kazungula with the Toyota Hilux in his name to go and sell the Hilux in Zambia! The blue-book had his name. Changed at CTO-Transport Office- from Motswana woman’s name (owner) to “Mulenga” (new owner) and a covering letter was given by the boss. That was the last they heard of “Mulenga” who was very honest and had-working! The Motswana woman went on to say, “But he left his bag and all his clothes in the servant’s quarters!”
It is not having an evil eye, but just being very cautious, protecting the Zedian name!
@ 13 Thats a case of forged document and impersonation for someone wanting to pass as a Zambian. Here we are talking a full grown man who once held public office and not some kawayawaya. I suppose his lineage is available for scrutiny (if at all done prior to employment by GRZ). I say again objectivity…….. You should instead be asking who are the witnesses, victims and the like to substantiate the charges being leveled and debate wether the authorities have a good case. Anyhow most Zambians hate to go the extra mile and analyse issues satisfatorily. Its not your fault???
This Mwalimu guy used to be a thief from a long time when he was in UNZASU at campus (he claimed to be Zambian and we believed him) and he is well known for that, just stop wasting time on him, he will never stop stealing just leave him, that’s how he is. Just look at his eyes he can even steal something from the police station and in the cells from the poor inmates. That leg is broken because he was beaten while trying to steal something. He is honestly a waste of space!
mwalimu ni kawalala wa mwa kanyama…..! anaba na ng’ombe ku mbesuma ranch but the cops cant make a case coz he got pregnant cows to him farm and took them back when they had given birth!
Funny how people are so ignorant about their own country and the people in it. ‘Simfukwe’ is probably a Mambwe or Lungu name. These people including others from North Eastern Zambia such as the Namwanga, Wandya, Nyiha, Lambya, and Wiwa tend to be light skinned and have features that some associate with the Tutsi peoples of Rwanda and Burundi. Given the fact that people have been travelling up and down the Tanganyika for centuries and inter-marriages have taken place, it is not surprising that the Zambian gene pool is extremely varied and results in different facial and corporal features amongst the general population.
Yangu ba Simfukwe. Didn’t anyone ever teach you about stealing and consequences?
Ukushishita Ba Simfukwe, people born from Mwachiusa fathers never get smarter.
Very good news; next up Alex Chikwanda for abuse of authority.
The topic of what is ‘Zambian’ reminds me of certain people I have met throughout my life :) Wouldn’t wish them on a fellow Zambian but there are always those who figure they are more ”Zambian” than the next. All it requires is birth and parental choices. In my mind it also used to include welcoming warmth and respect but I am naive like that :) We have a gene pool more mixed than they accept…
Believe it or not this guy graduated from campus with a LAW degree, what a concidence!!
Believe it or not this guy graduated from campus with a LAW degree, what a coincidence!! or is it a precedence your worship!
These fools thought they were untouchable! Rupiah has fled and now you are exposed! What a difference a few months makes in politics!!
This arrest looks politically motivated. I smell a rat! Is this another way of initiating a bye-election?
…He looks like Al Shabab leader.
intimidation plus witchhunt at work.
The day Rupiah Banda will be ordered to Chosa Nsapato by the police, that day I’ll run hysterically in nudity with glee in the streets of Lusaka!
The Simfukwe issue has been followed with keen interest and hopefully this marks the beginning of the prosecution of the whole case. It presuposes enough evidence is available to charge this man with corruption and send him to serve a period in prison. This should be the standard to all who are found guilty of corruption cases. Let Zambians see logical conclusions of cases of corruption in the nation. We do not expect hulla baloo news as an end in itself as has been the tendency.
Counsel Malipenga has aged fast … is it good milile? I cudnt recognise the guy. Time flies, i miss those UNZA dayz when he really acted like counsel with his late friend.
prof einstein was correct to say human stupidity is infinite im not interested in politics but wherever i have been people keep on proving the theory correct humans are geneticaly 100% the same but not identical because of their genotype ,i wonder why humans discriminate each other because of appearance & names 4what
Racist don’t have the knowledge you have.
Racism shud not have a place in the 21st Century Zambia. We have come a long way not to embrace each other despite our diversity.
Its kind of funny but actually unfortunate that all the bloggers talking of this man’s facial features or name are actually blogging from other people’s countries where i’m sure they’d like like to feel accepted.I wud like to think that the way we want to be treated with respect and not judged by our looks in the countries we live in.Many zambians have acquired the citizenship of the various countries we live in & won’t like to be told we’re not the “genuine article” because we came from zambia.If this Mwalimu is zambian so be it.
Racism on earth will never end. Wishful thinking won’t help.
The Press Trust of India reports that the Zambian President, Sata, has prostate cancer that has metastasised and, according to doctor Desai who attended to him during a recent vist to India, will cause a state funeral within three to five years.
Gladys Banda his wife is a friend of mine! Sorry mwana kukonda ndalama walenga bamuna bako vyoonse ivi
@36 Erika Rasha, please repeat your message but this time ‘louder’. It’s disheartening to see we have xenophobia, racism, tribalism etc in Zambia.
@ 13 UNZA DOKOTA, Are you implying we should trust people we meet once we know they are Zambian? Are you saying Zambians don’t steal? My dear thieves/cons are everywhere. They come in all sizes, shapes, tribes, races, nationality sexes, colour etc.
Never trust a person just because of the colour, nationality, shape etc but becoz of the character!
This really shows how much depth these so called educated zambians have. Ever read your origins?? You think Central Africa started its existence when the whiteman gave you a name called Zambia and called you Zambians?? I trust that a villager in Mporokoso; Sinazeze or Mwinilunga would be more exposed as to our origins as Africans if one goes back only 150 years ago (1862) before the Britons colonised us.
The three guys on his right have typical lungu/mambwe features!
Why is Laito still at large Dola Bokosi mafiga is still fleee why why why why chinibaba ine shuwa mwe bakabwalala walking vely flee awe mwe
Wat do u kno bout Mwalimu ask pipo of kasama,He chewed census money with his obese girlfriend kod Brillian sefuke.. Thot he was untouchable stealing in broadday light surely wat goes up must come down. Check out his farms in lusaka west and northern province
This guy is a “coloured” born of a ZAMBIAN (Simfukwe) and a TANZANIAN (Mwalimu) parent.
I thought we should focus more on what he had stolen that bother about his heritage. Barrack Usain Obama does not make the US President an arab. We have intermarried with other neighbouring countries and I personally don’t give a damn whether he’s from Rwanda, Somali, Tanzania you name. My interest is for him to be punished for stealing from us through his office period.
he is a Mambwe, Mwalimu is a common name used by Mambwe’s as well as swahili ..bututu bwashani kanshi..
Good evening
There’s issue-based blogging and then there’s plain triviality. Most of the comments above clearly falls into the latter category.
#34 scientist/engineer, well said!
“He who expresses opinions must not let himself be caught in a contradiction. He who has ideas thinks amidst contradictions as well ”
Karl Kraus (1874-1936)
“Professors #34 and #48” in qoutes, right now semantics and quantum physics ain’t gonna help us. Our focus should be on how we gonna get back what Mwalimu Simfukwe and his cohorts stole. I don’t care whether someone is “injun,” jewish or just a common zambian criminal. If he stole from us, then we need to get our money back. I am Zambian but light skinned, and I am always mistaken as coming from the carribean, till I tell people my origin. Lets deal with the issue of thievery than worry about the looks of a criminal, for a criminal is a criminal and colour or heritage have nothing to do with stealing. This is becoming a circus where ugly is right and fair/good looking is wrong. We need to make him pay rather than worry about his looks.
too bad for mwalimu, he is a smart agriculturalist
yangu tata eeeeeeeee kanshi imwe nga bamikata kwaluka ifilema,liato alinenkonto,dora nawo nenkonto omba ilinalyo nenkonto awe mwandini. ukwiba kubi.
mwalimu kanshi waku somalia mukakeni foreigner
They are not victims of corruption, but victims of tribe, they are both non bembas neither are they from Luapula like Katele Kalumba. Those are immocent hard working mambwe farmers. I t is a fact,
CHANDA #2, ARE YOU ZAMBIAN YOURSELF? IF YOU ARE YOU WOULD BE ABLE TO KNOW THAT MWALIMU IS FULLY A ZAMBIAN NAME. YES!! THIS IS GOOD. WE NEED A LAWFULL NATION WERE PEOPLE INTRUSTED WITH AUTHORITY OPERATE PROFESSIONALLY. ZAMBIA IS SUPPOSED TO BE BEYOND BOTSWANA AND SOUTH AFRICA IN TERMS OF DEVELOPMENT. BUT BECAUSE OF RAMPANT CORRUPTION IT IS JUST GOING BACKWARDS. THATS WHAT WE WANT. COME ON PF SHOW THEM THE WAY.
He is Zambian; don’t forget that our country has diversify people, would You say Banadas, Silungwes and many common Inter-boarder names are Not Zambians??
With regards to corruption charges, good let this be a lesson to many, Abuse of Office and theft should not be tolerated. Lock them up.