A SCAM involving some opposition political party members and other people masquerading as Patriotic Front (PF) officials and Government workers has been unearthed in which they are giving out loans to unsuspecting clergymen and marketeers after obtaining details of their national registration cards (NRCs).
The details are meant to be used as evidence of vote-buying should PF retain power in August.
It has also been revealed that the scheme is aimed at creating an impression by this opposition party that the Government is stealing from Zambians by selling the registration forms at K100, but fails to give the empowerment funds to applicants and that it would use their names to rig the August 11 general elections.
Scores of clergymen and marketeers in Lusaka have already been swindled out of their hard-earned money after purchasing the forms for the collateral-free funds in categories of K3,000, K5,000 and K10,000.
Ebenezer Mission Church of All Nations Pastor-in-Charge Julius Chola of Lusaka’s Chelstone Township and Avondale Community Church deputy Pastor Philemon Ngwira confirmed the scam in separate interviews yesterday.
Pastor Chola, who is also the branch chairperson of Chelston Big Market, disclosed that scores of marketeers had been swindled by unscrupulous persons claiming to be working for the Government.
He said the loan scheme was a hoax designed to create a wrong impression that the Government was stealing from its people by collecting K100 for registration forms while failing to give out the funds.
“This group claiming to work for Government is targeting marketeers and is on a campaign that Government is giving collateral-free loans to anybody buying registration forms as long as they give details of their NRCs and voters’ cards,” Pastor Chola said.
He said because of the requirement that there was no need for collateral except for giving details of NRCs and voters’ cards, many marketeers and Church members had bought the registration forms.
The clergymen, who refused to work with the group after turning down an offer, said the loan scheme could have been designed to embarrass the Government that it had failed to empower its people.
And Pastor Ngwira, who was also approached by the group, was asked to convince his Church members to apply for the loans after submitting details of their NRCs.
He was disappointed with the group’s behaviour, which could be using the scheme to also create an impression that the ruling PF would use names of the loan applicants to allegedly rig the elections.
This opposition party hopes to produce the same names and their NRCs as evidence of vote-buying by the PF in an event that PF wins the elections and it petitions the results.
Pastor Ngwira urged the police and other law-enforcement agencies to thoroughly investigate and bring the culprits to book for swindling people and masquerading as workers of the Government.
This sounds like Propaganda, why not mention the name of the Opposition Party, and if it was not Propaganda we would have already seen statements being issued denouncing and calling out the name of the Political Party.
This is all PF making. Don’t even try to accuse any opposition party. It’s actually PF themselves who doing those evil schemes. We these panga family people.
This is one of the easiest scams ever. As always most people in zambia like fiction. While they’re still dreaming, conmen are making an easy buck.
This is trash of PF. This fake pastor why didn’t he report the scam to PF police the culprits could have bn surely arrested.
Its the PF behind this scum.. Why is he failing to mention names. ? If it was UPND doing this the police would have swung iinto action already . But because its PF doing it even the fake Pastor is hiding the name of culprits.
Augiust 11 people power will prevail.
Is this statement by Zambia Police? then we have a serious problem that public offices whose role is to protect every citizen has been compromised.
It is a shame to read such which the Police should never tolerate. this is not opposition members but definite PF trying to dent the image of oppositions.
When will Zambians grow up. we need true governance than this nonsense influenced by an IG who tends to be a cadre.
HH If you win, bring professionals to run these institutions than these fo.ols. It is sickening to see our country be run by Dogs..
cheap propaganda, we all know that its only PF that has those manners and means
Am a marketeer, it’s true PF are giving K2000 when u give them your voter’s card. They ask a question, are going to vote for Lungu. If u say yes then you get the money. But if u say no then u get nothing. Anybody with a voter’s card can go and prove it
Then surely we must be very dull, aren’t we the ones who brought “donchi kubeba’? How then can we only be giving loans to marketeers who say “Yes we will vote for Lungu”! So it means the DC will produce fake NRCs to match with the seized voter’s cards? This is unbelievable!!
Any way, us in the diaspora can access this funds because we also need this money in order to vote for the bearer on demand on a Friday over a barbecue
Its not even an opposition party its PF. Who else?
Pastor Chelstone Police is a stone throw away from your Church go an report fake Pastor
Who doesnt knw that u’re fake pastor who has been bought by silver to support Pf and Lungu who have lamentery failed to govern the affairs of this once great nation under Mwanawasa and RB, ba pf u have distroyed everything that the former govt left, plz this election is going to HH,unless by rigging thats when pf could win but that wouldnt work we are all alert if its a war we are ready for mother zambia
UPND is like a family that defends a son each time he is mentioned of stealing. My advice to suporters of UPND is that you dont know all members of UpND and what they do. so dont be quick to defend. Every human is potential criminal
No body is defending, just station obvious.
By the way, why are you defending? Because “…Every human is potential criminal…” and you and your bunch are not any more “…potential criminal…” but have graduated to be “certified criminals”?
Police shud get hold of the two rumor mongers in the names of pastors to help them with investigations in to put the public in a clear position. If nothing happens, then cage the two pastors for spreading false rumours.
Another stupid pf cadre just like that one who vehemently denied responsibility for the thugs police arrested for harassing marketeers and bus drivers, instead claimed he knew the people behind the and called them America 2,now we have another stupid doing the same urging police to find the culprits yet he has told us that the same purported swindlers approached him, does it mean our Patriotic compatriots have no idea where police stations are located to report and take such culprits?
This is exactly what happens when the president feels like father’s Christmas and goes around the country dishing out money. People take advantage of the situation and the truth becomes marred in a smokescreen of political propaganda.
It can’t be an opposition. They would have been arrested a long time. This government is very efficient at that. That is why I can’t believe this story. An opposition to do such a thing and there is evidence. No! No! No! not true bwana.
IF IT COMES FROM PF, IT IS A LIE! THE DESPERATION BY LUNGU AND HIS PF WILL MAKE THEM DO THE UNSPEAKABLE BETWEEN NOW AND AUGUST.
No doubt these these so called pastors are agents of pf who are yearning to discredit opposition parties. If not may be they too were swindled and they are are hiding in their members. Pf is in Lusaka and there is no way its violent panga cadres can tolerate an opposition group going around markets and Churches getting NRCs, voters cards and K100 without causing mayhem. It is a shame that some so called clergy have literally become pf cadres. In Kitwe the whole pastor fellowship under Dr. Lewila are eating from chagwa’s delicacies through Chanda Kabwe and are campaigning for ELC yet the people of Kitwe are so distressed.
Comment: All those are PF Criminals Upnd has no money, time and space to conduct illigal acts like that. HH must and will triumph all vote thieves and cheats will fail becoz the right will prevail over pf evils!
This sounds like it is coming directly from the mouth of one disgraced disgraced father Frank Bwalya. But these malicious schemes and propaganda attacks will not work. Forward Chabe.
How sad to read such a fake PF fabrication ? Who in this doesn’ t know how corrupt both the PF government officials are their cadres are ? And on whom would they like to smear the vice if truly it does not originate from their camp ? Ba PF be objective, you have ruined this country to an extent where even the children who are born from you learn the vice ‘cos they come in contact with it whilst in their mothers wombs ? Stealing is your culture and you want to make it as if it is the Zambian way of life ? Which opposition party can carry out such a dirty practice in this current police state of yours without a police permit ? You are jokers, just tell the nation that you have failed to administer the country. Ndi mwina Chinsali.
The most popular candidate will surely win the election.
Surely even a smarta grade-5 can see through this story or rather the article. It has no substance whatsover.
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