Police have recorded a warn and caution statement from Post Newspaper editor in chief Fred M’membe and his reporter Mukosha Funga for publishing a letter in the paper that was classified under the state security act.
Police deputy spokesperson Rae Hamoonga told a media briefing that Mr M’membe and Ms Funga have been warned and cautioned in relation to the article that was published on 17 April 2014, under the headline “Lungu’s aide under $200, 000 bribe probe,” The article stated that President Edgar Lungu’s political advisor Kaizer Zulu was under probe for receiving US$ 200, 000 bribe from a Chinese business executive in order for Zulu to facilitate a meeting between the Chinese and the President.
The story was derived from a letter that was written by Anti Corruption Commission (ACC) director Rosewin Wandi to president Edgar Lungu that the commission wanted to investigate Mr Zulu for the aforementioned bribe allegations.
Mr Hamoonga said investigations will continue and if found wanting the two will be called back to the police and a charge of being found in possession of classified information under the state security act will be slapped on them.
Initially the police summoned three reporters but the Post Newspaper lawyers appealed to the police not to interrogate Kombe Mataka who could not stand the probe because of her pregnancy.
“Kombe could not stand the probe because of her pregnancy situation, she will be called at a later date when she is be able to stand the investigations, ” Mr Hamoonga said.
Bloomberg news reported that the Zambian police are investigating leaks of classified government information after the Post newspaper reported that Zambia had agreed to borrow $193 million from a Chinese weapons manufacturer.
The privately owned Post newspaper on May 9 reported that President Edgar Lungu’s cabinet agreed to the loan from Chinese state-owned Poly Technologies Inc., citing a letter from Secretary to the Cabinet Roland Msiska to Fredson Yamba, the treasury secretary. The funds would pay for security equipment for police, the immigration department, prisons and the Drug Enforcement Commission, the Post said.
In response President Edgar Lungu said he is thinking twice about enacting the Freedom of Information Bill because of the way information is being mishandled by the media.The President said the allegation that government is hiding a US$192 million loan from China for security purposes is false. Information Minister Chishimba Kambwili told the police Sunday to investigate the leak,
I dont know why the police even bother to take this guy ku police because all they ever do is record warn and caution chapwa and he goes scott free aleseka noku seka, just poison the bugger with polonuim and he will die slowly.
or Selenium-Element 79
perfect suggestion. im going to look for polonium so that mambala akapolomye….
@ Akapondo
Trying to upgrade police democratic compliance with the Constitution? How can you justify 1mbecility of your comment? Party membership?
Iwe swine that guy is exposing what the criminals in govt are doing and you want to kill him for doing his work! Wait until polonium is served on you and your family. Never wish ill for anyone as nobody deserves to die despite of how much they error.
M’membe is used to such things. Govts have come & gone, still he is digging deeper meaning of journalism.
Nothing will happen with this issue. Professional journalists WILL NEVER review their SOURCES. PF police’re doing a “cat ‘n’ mouse” chasing game.
Without check & balance, PF BANDITS would have still been mute over such colossal amount ~$192 million is shocking. Pure thugs indeed.
The ministry of defense is catered for in the national budget, now Lungu el al PF BANDITS want to embezzle everything. There is no smoke without fire & only the guilty are scared of their own fears. Keep up the ACCOUNTABILITY Fred M’membe despite your skeletons too.
PF the ECONOMY & KWACHA need urgent attention, pass that freedom of information bill.
The Skeleton Key
~206~
I feel like we have been here several times before. The ‘news writer’ now making news.
Walitumpa sana iwe. Wish i cud see you and _______ squeeze your dick . Useful idio—ts abound
LIKE SATA AND MAZOKA WERE POISONED BY THE MMD THATS WHAT YOU WANT TO CONTINUE IN ZAMBA? SHAME UPON U BLIND DIFFECTOR.
I think 193Million dollars is a lot of money which can go along way in alleviating poverty, we have constant load shedding, that money can be invested in productive sector than what govt is say just ,hiding the truth. thieves,
may the lord kill your evil deeds and you will rot in hell.
That money was meant for campaign next year, they PF wanted to steal it period.
A lot things are wrong under this PF govt and when exposed they start arresting innocent people, shame.
If you develop without security, you will invite all the Congolese criminals and South African Tsotsis to terrorise you. You will not be safe in your house with your development. These things security and development go together. What is wrong is to spend the money on spying on your own people with ba shushushu everywhere.
When I was younger I used to attached some importance to ba Shushushu, now I don’t these are just money grabbing people with not purpose in the modern society. They are misguided to ‘help’ those in power in the developing world to keep a grip. When power eludes most shushushu are redundant without a trace. The top Shushushu like Xavier Chungu scamper through borders to resurface when the coast is ‘clear’. These kind of people have no credibility, ideology or proper profession. Mmembe is giving some people sleepless nights? It’s a shame we have pressed a ‘reset’ button. Get a life, govern us and stop scraping on side issues.
It is true what you have said; there are more pressing issues in this country than guns etc, Zambia is not at war. That money borrowed from China could be better used to open factories that are idle right now and employ some of the millions of unemployed in our country, improve health places, we cannot afford to fly to South Africa for treatment.
The money they are borrowing will be paid by us not these *****s and we need to know. On this one Fred you have my support.
We know why the president can’t relinquish the defence ministerial position because this is where all this money is supposed to go to buy arms. Didn’t you hear him ask whether it was necessary for him to tell Zambians that he bought arms.
Under these classified documents there are is lot of looting and corruption. The chaps want to steal because it is classified even corruption is now classified.
In the Zamtrop account there was serious stealing and sharing of resources because the chaps called this a classified bank account and nobody should know.
We really need to come up with what is classfied and not classfied and it not Kambwili or Edgar to…
Their time of reckoning is yet to come. They will never run away from Lusaka to Lusaka. We will never let these PF bandits Scot free, until they learn our rule of law & democracy.
The Skeleton Key
~206~
MEMBE SHOULD BE BEHIND THE BARS THIS TIME.
I entirely agree with you. Let the chap pay back the K14m which he has stolen from the very Zambians he is trying to deceive.
Mmembe’s time is up and lets show him.
the 14 billion was not stolen it was a loan and it is in the public domain. don’t confuse issues take some time to read
Wait and see. This guy Meembe was responsible for the the downfall of Chiluba by exposing the Zamtrop account. It all started just like this….
PF Bandits will have their days of reckoning, its just a matter of time.
Ecclesiastice 3:1-10~Time for everything.
They can hide behind limited power, but the time to be judged by man made law is coming for the PF bandits destroying the country.
2016 is on the horizon.
The Skeleton Key
~206~
Chitanchi
Agree with you 100%.
We need the Freedom of Information Bill for Zambian to come up with better ways of classifying issues. If this is left to politicians they will classify everything including stealing and corruption.
Look at how they abused the Zamtrop account just because it was a classified bank account. Do not just support because you are a support of this one or that one. Let us be objective before these politicians abuse us to extremes and in fact help them so that they do not go to hell.
To Edgar Lungu
Mmembe will always remain Post Newspaper proprietor until he dies or the company closes but you will never remain president for ever the most you can go is ten years and you will still meet that guy outside state house. So be careful.
I agree with tou 100%.
Para-military Police are living in tents like dog-kennels. These security projects will be white elephants while the Zambian people are in debt for the sake of the few politicians who got kick-backs from the Chinese. These loans/Contracts are not even being taxed by ZRA!!!
The truth will come out on how much Mr. Donkey-Teeth benefited from this loan.
It’s a pity politicians have forgotten the suffering we went through in the 80’s due to debt to IMF & World Bank.
I dont always agree with what the Post publishes. I must, however, say that it looks like Fred (The Post) is back like the old times. The Post has real digging better than the Daily Nation, Mwebantu, Zambia Reports and all these other wanna bees online media put together.
There was a time I had completely stopped reading the Post because it was just praising Sata in everything. Well, the Post is back and it’s even digging deeper than before. In fact, the Post came back even before Mr Sata past away.
PF should be careful. What they are doing is actually re-branding the Post by harassing the Post’s Journalists. PF is making the Post even more popular and more powerful than before. Daily Nation and Zambia Reports have tried to flex their muscle but they cant outwit the Post..
no wonder you call yourself mr intelligent. thats an intelligent observation. now please pass it on to PF cadres
Exposing wrong doing is great because we want to know what our leaders are up to. What I have issue with is how selective Mmembe is. If Sata was still president the Post would not have exposed this. During Sata’s time it was a case of ‘scratch my back and I will scratch yours’.
exactly – it is the partiality of Mmembe. If he loves you – you get get away with murder – If he does not manslaughter would turn into murder. That is Fred for you. I think when the weekly post started things were objective. Today Post cannot see and write anything bad about Nchito and Wynther Kabimba
Let all well meaning Zambians ask Edgar Lungu to resign because he has failed to run the country.
The UPND and the PF are parties that are really Bibilical.
The UPND represents righteous people while the PF represent the unrighteous ones.
UPND Members are Sheep while the PF are Goats. UPND represent Heaven but to contrary PF means HELL or GEHENA.
So all PF Members including Edgar Lungu and Fatherless Bwalya belong to the Dark Kingdom while the UPND including His Excellency HH and Erick Chanda belong to the Kingdom of the Light.
So chose where you belong today, tomorrow may be too late.
Many times I ask myself if I could think like you had I been born Tonga. But I refuse to think like hh, coz he is only learning how to speak, that being the reason being as he is. Pity really.. Training your supporters to think like you can’t make you realize your weakness. It is v/ important to know your weakness than just knowing your strength.
Free advice to you upnd carders…
if hell and heaven are places far from earth – I will remain here on earth because of the characters you have put in the two places.
Stop blasphemy you ignoramus!!!
That money was intended for elections. Remember Zamtrop ??? Well done Post with Meembe. Balefwaya ukulatutinya, twalibelela ifwe, kale bayamba. Soldier on mate for our sake. Balefwaya ukwiba and they were very sure the deal had gone through — so very disappointed and capable of doing anything. Up your guard as these folks may stop at nothing.
President Lungu seems oblivious to all the corruption and plundering going on around him. The only assertion that we can draw from this behaviour and lack of decisive leadership is that he is complicit in these acts of theft against the state .
It is important that the current leadership does not encumber future generations with insurmountable amounts of debt under the guise of development.
Our neighbours , Malawi is currently arresting civil servants, army officials and politicians involved in the so called ” Cash gate” scandal. This involved huge payments made for services not rendered.
This trend is replicating itself in Zambia with the collusion of mostly Chinese firms. A case in point in the Airport Project and the RDA.
The media has started exposing these dirt deals…
Here is a story from USA by a well known Journalist criticising the US government on Osama bin laden killing. This is top secret!!! and guess what? HE HAS NOT BEEN ARRESTED OR CAUTIONED. He has his sources and will not reveal them.
”Famed investigative journalist Seymour Hersh is standing by his controversial account of the 2011 killing of Osama bin Laden despite a growing chorus of critics, including the White House, who say his version is flat-out wrong.”
Now back to Zambia. What is top secret? Corruption investigations. What a bunch of jockers?? The whole system reeks with corruption and becomes TOP SECRET!! May God or even ALLAH help the people of Zambia…
Use english bwana its the official language not chilapalapa!
A Lungu, please start acting like a protector of Zambians. This mafia rule will not take you anywhere.
mmembe your days are numbered,start counting them one by one