FORMER republican president Rupiah Banda has returned from South Africa where he had gone for medical check-ups.
Mr Banda was given 16 days from October 4, 2013 to by October 20, 2013 by the Lusaka high court in which to seek medical attention.
Meanwhile, Mr Banda’s office yesterday instructed officials at the Kenneth Kaunda international airport not to allow members of the press from gaining entry to enable them cover his arrival from South Africa.
Mr Banda arrived yesterday around 16:00 hours aboard South African airways and was immediately driven off from the airport as journalists who had been at the airport from 14:30 were still negotiating entry to interview him.
The journalists who kept on being referred from one office to another by airport and immigration officials for close to two hours were later informed by Senior Liaison and Protocol officer Bennie Silwamba in a telephone conservation that Mr Banda’s assistant for press and public relations Kennedy Limwanya had issued instruction not to allow journalists cover the former Head of State’s arrival.
But when contacted on phone, Mr Limwanya refuted having issued such instructions and promised to call back. However, by press time he had not done so.
Lusaka high court judge Anesi Banda-Bobo had ordered and directed that Mr Banda’s passport be released to enable him travel for medical check-up.
Mr Banda who had been on a travel ban had his diplomatic passport cancelled by the government in June this year has since been issued with a new one.
This was after President Michael Sata allowed Mr Banda to travel to South Africa following his request to the Head of State.
Who said he wouldn’t return? Don’t fear the unknown you people.
welcome back home, President of all Zambians!!
Welcome come Mr. President for all Zambians. Wishing you well.
If I may ask, what is Mr. Banda looking up there? Is it the monkey at state house? But in any case real monkeys have come to state out to drain the national (maize) resources. I am sure Mr. Rupiah Banda foresaw this as can be seen from the picture.
Pleasant surprise! But no one should be hoodwinked that he is no longer a flight risk. Just that his case hasn’t reached the stage when he is put on the defence.
Welcome back mambala.
Welcome back home soon to be convicted kabolala
WELL COME BACK KABWALALA. THE BIGGEST THIEF ZAMBIA WILL EVER HAD!!
@Mopao Mokonzi Wa Zabanga, you’re a very s.t.u.p.i.d chimpanzee! You’re an Aryan’s definition of a monkey.
@AutoMobileBanda. Thank you! This Mopao ….. chap is really annoying
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A big victory for democracy. The cartel has been put to shame.
Fwani! follow your friend Kafupi!
Mambala
Taking into consideration Edgar Lungu’s youthful age, it is high time he learnt to respect the elders. One day Lungu may need RB’s wisdom when his PF boss ditches him as he did to Sebastian Zulu. A Zulu: know that WAKO NI WAKO
Liars and haters were wrong on RB.Now if only RB could do his magic and engineer a return of our country to record forex reserves and bumper harvests that would be a great comeback.
enka rb bcame so excited and selfish,he chased true working zambians like magande who engineered our economy and sorrounde himself with selfish pipo i ve no kind weds for him,if he was principled rite he cud have bn a president,let him be fixed he has entangled himself
President Mwanawasa is the one that Left Zambia with a surplus and no debt.
it takes two years for RB to go for medical check ups and two months for sata to go for the same.
The F.OOL goes every month
That is my man RB.
God tricks…next time they will allow you to travel again and that will be the time for “MATI”
@HM with revelations of Sata and Kabimba forming companies and giving themselves lucrative Government contracts RB is no longer a flight risk. They have effectively lined themselves up for court case in the future too.
Zambial Daily headline on 17 th March 2017: POLICE SURROUND SATA RESIDENCE.
Post Newspaper on 17 th March 2017: HH IS ARRESTING BEMBAZ ONLY
Zambian watchdog on 17 th 2017: HH IS PRESIDENT FOR ALL.
Keep on dreaming my man. The man will never be president, never.
Kuti chabutukila ku mulu efyo chileloleshafye mu makumbi.
@Iyeeee, who are you to think that HH will never be president? You are few of those bemba tribalists who think like that.
Keep dreaming after all it does not cost anything to dream…
That is the flight risk man! When are Zambians going to be mature,this tavern mentally is really costing the country a lot.Every Jim and jack can make it to the presidency because you dont have standards!
Wow ! It never crossed my mind that bashi Mpundu can return.Maybe he is a man of integrity after all.Awesome !!!
RB is an old man who cannot afford to be on the run and he simply has no reason or motive to run away! We all know he cannot go to prison no matter how many cases he committed. I hope the knee got the attention it needed though!
The journalist should have concentrated on just telling the news of RB’s return rather than take out his frustrations of spending Sunday afternoon at the airport on Bennie Silwamba or Kennedy Limwanya. Who cares that they did not call you back by “press time”? RB is a private citizen retired from politics and doesn’t owe you a press conference or statement at the airport!
…..better would have been to report on all the handlers and people from Mr. Kabimba’s inner circle who also denied journalists a chance to ask questions yesterday! As Cabinet Minister and Party Chairman, Kabimba is very much a public figure. Did his people call you back…. by “press time”?
It always pains me to see our leaders rushing to S.A for treatment or medical check ups each time they are sick.Why ca’nt we work on our health facilities as well so that we stop incurring avoidable costs on health issues? Does this mean we do’nt have money to upgrade our health centres to acceptable standards and or better still,to train our medical staff up to the specialists levels? I would be ashamed if I am a leader or former leader to go for such trips because it would show me my failures.
Rupiah Banda is a true Zambian and he cannot sink so low by going into hidding, the wrong perception some dogs in Zambia may have. What has he got to fear after all, he ruled Zambia professionally, not the try and error administration of the today where stealing is the order of the day. Ati ‘I am alergic to corruption” yet the entire blood is full of corruption hence, the English saying ” people who are fond of talking about suicide end up committing suicide”. Bakabwalala, bakaponya, broad daylight robbers who are pretending to be serving an ordinary Zambia, yet out there, they are busy swindling the country.
Medical chep up only in South Africa. Why not in Zambia? Wasting tax payers money to have knees checked. Useless.
Zambian the safest country to live in even if you insult the president of that is democracy it won’t belong before sata recieves an award God bless zambia
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Wow ! The man has proved us wrong.Nice one bashi Thandiwe.
Thandiwe is wife, not daughter. Where have you been?
Welcome back to the prison soon!
That picture is it KANITUNDILA? He seems to be looking up the tree for the monkey (KANITUNDILA).
Nalabako Ndeke!
the cases that RB is facing are very weak to even remove his immunity. its just abuse of power by sata and mutembo nchito who is very corrupt corrupted by mahtany.
i like the 17 march 2017 zambia daily mail news hope it wil not be so