CIVIL servants behind leaking of classified documents should be punished because it is criminal for anyone to give away classified Government letters to unauthorized people, former Federation of Free Trade Unions of Zambia (FFTUZ) president Joyce Nonde Simukoko has charged.
She said civil servants in the habit of leaking classified Government documents should stop the dangerous trend which undermines the security of the nation
Mrs. Nonde Simukoko was commenting on the leaked letter the Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) Director General Roswin Wandi wrote to President Edgar Lungu over corruption allegations leveled against his political advisor Kaizer Zulu.
She said it was criminal to leak Government documents and people behind such subversive acts should be probed and brought to book.
Mrs. Nonde Simukoko said Zambians were no longer safe looking at how the institutions entrusted with the security of the country were in the forefront of destroying the system by leaking letters and Government documents to outsiders.
“What is happening is frightening because it undermines the office of the President and that of the security system of the country. People should not think that such leakages are aimed at fixing President Lungu. They are aimed at destroying the country because the people will not have confidence in the system, they will not trust the ACC, the police and other security institutions in the country,” she said.
Mrs. Nonde Simukoko said there was need to tighten the loop holes, adding that Government should institute investigations and bring to book people behind the scheme.
She said the route the country has taken was dangerous as it undresses the country to foreign elements.
“Some people do it for money, they sell the information and that is why I am saying there is need for Government to critically scrutinize these people before appointing them to certain offices. If this trend is not arrested it will cause problems for this country. It is a bad habit which all well-meaning Zambians should not support,” said Mrs. Nonde Simukoko.
She said it was criminal for anyone to be found with classified or confidential documents which included letters, adding that it was high time the people of Zambia respected the office of the President and the individual holding the office.
Mrs. Nonde Simukoko said the people of Zambia were uncomfortable under the current leadership in the security wing who have shown signs of weakness in the manner they were handling issues of leaked documents.
Poor construction of heading, please! English please! Is Joyce Nonde behind the leaks? Should she be punished? What are saying?
What kind of a headline is this ba LT sure???
Meant to say “What are you saying?”
she is talking sense .
Yes, she is talking sense. However, she should have made this observation a long time ago. Especially during the MMD time in office.
Am sure its some T.ongas since they are all UPnDN members and offer 99% support to their party as exhibited in the Neganega formular election
The Title is a bit confusing, ” should Joyce Nonde be punished”
Anyway, what the title is, the topic is clear.
Not only Civil servants to be punished, but also lazy men like President lungu who are failing to give hope to the economy.
Zambians should disappoint Edgar Sangoma Lungu next year by voting him out.
Hildah the title is OK. There is – that seperates Joyce. Meaning she said that. Only if there was no (-) then it could be puzzling.
Sh!t, I still have a crush on this woman despite her advanced years. Will get myself organised and chat her up.
ba Suntwe,
we’re wearing beer googles again, I see..
EL must fire the Intelligence Chief, replace Libongani and Home affairs minister Davies Mwila.
In Kaunda and Chiluba’s time no one waited to be to to arrest these criminals leaking info to press
But now it has become a habit
First arrest the publisher and let tell you where he has got the information from
Mmembe cannot continue to get away with crimes ion the name of press freedom.
He wants freedom for himself and profit but at expense of security of the nation. This must be halted
The President should dismiss first the originator of the letter and whoever is alleged to have handled the transmission of the said document before being sent including secretaries or typists and secondly dismiss all those who may have received or handled the same letter at state house whether they are his advisors or permanent secretaries. Otherwise failure to take decisive or stern action against such culprits no solution will be found and the security of the nation will continue to be compromised. We can not continue to have such unpatriotic characters in the governance of our country. Shame.
The government has been undermined already. We get a glimpse of how rampant corruption is and also how the president is willing to let corrupt personnel continue. Transparency and honesty is a form of currency the PF have failed to borrow or earn.
EL, run the country like an open air market at your own peril. Soon you will discover your political ‘ foes’ by the doorstep forcifully unseating you unawares.
Looking for employment madam Nonde?
This is why we need the Freedom of Information Bill so that we can stop MISCLASSIFYING information as CLASSIFIED. We need this so that the press can be free to get information from institutions like ACC, DEC and Auditor general.
Why should information of such magnitude of getting huge sums of money through corruption be classified information. After all it does not endanger national security. It is just an alleged crime committed by some one closer to the president.
It is really irritating in this country when you look at our laws. Very archaic. Even if some one kills another person I will not be surprised to find that it will still be classified information. Very stupid indeed.
If this Pf govt is undermined now what of the next govt. It will be worse.
The reason is simple . the few tongas behind the leaking of data can not outnumber the non tongas in govt offices.
Investigate all tongas and yu ‘ll definitely find one wanting.
You are now being tribalistic with your warped suggestion. Are saying that Bembas should have been fired from their jobs simply because Sata was well informed when he was in the opposition. Your suggestion, of targeting one ethnic group (Tongas), is a recipe for bloodshed.
Government have been slow to adapt their means of communicating. I worked in a government institution where secretaries typed memos and letters; and that meant data was free flowing even before the intended target is made aware. Just change information transfer protocol; password documents and move them electronically using official emails. Hard documents as so easy to leak using Smart phones; with whatsapp and fb how will you trace the leaks? Everything is flux; golden rule is “change”.