damage at Carnival Furnishers in Kitwe
COPPERBELT Minister Mwenya Musenge has denied any involvement in mealie-meal smuggling and has accused his political adversaries of plotting his fall by implicating him in the scandal.
On Wednesday this week, police in Kitwe impounded a truck carrying 1,000 x 25 kilogrammes bags of breakfast mealie-meal which was allegedly linked to a Mr Musenge .
But Mr Musenge said at no time did he engage himself in illegalities such as mealie-meal smuggling despite being a businessman throughout his life.
“Looking at what the residents of Chimwemwe were going through,in 2012 I decided to register with Chimanga Changa Milling Company to start supplying mealie-meal and make the commodity available using my building in Chimwemwe Township,” he said.
Mr Musenge said later he decided to stop supplying mealie-meal from Chimanga Changa due to low demand but his driver asked to be supplying mealie-meal in Ndola using his account with the Ndola-based milling company.
He added that three years ago a constituency secretary he only named as Laston requested to be using his Chimwemwe business premises and the Chimanga Changa account to continue supplying the commodity to which he agreed.
“It is unfortunate that the young man is in police custody, I don’t want to get in the way, I want the police to investigate the matter,” Mr Musenge said.
He urged the police to be professional as there was no law that prohibited business people from transporting goods within the country.
“There is need for professionalism on the part of police officers, what they should have done is follow the truck to find out if was going to the border instead impounding the vehicle from Chimwemwe. Groundnuts are transported all the way from places like Chinsali to Lusaka and no one questions that,” Mr Musenge said.
He accused his political enemies of instigating his fall.
“They will not succeed in bringing me down, me I have been performing in the two constituencies I have been. In Nkana and Chimwemwe constituencies my works speak for themselves, so those who are plotting my fall should be patient ,the central committee will come up with names of candidates,so lets stop this mudslinging,” Mr Musenge said.
Caught out and trying to pass the buck. Shame on you
There is PF for you. When masses are struggling with high mealie meal prices senior PF leadership is involved in smuggling the commodity. Musing today, yesterday it was Lubinda and as usual Edgar will not do anything. How can anyone in their right ind support such a corrupt party?
You ***** minister do you think we are children, a you sure someone can use your company for free am now getting tired with these PF MPs.
PF has no leadership! its like drunk drunkard trying to smell alcohol on another person,,,,, lungu himself is a smuggler, what would stop his minsters to join him in smuggling???
Has to be a Tonga.
Disgraceful tribe.
Thanks
BB2014
Has Lubinda and the Director at FRA been fired yet? What is the update?
In any normal country this man would already have been ARRESTED and in JAIL!
But with this useless Lungu and his PF corruption, stealing, lies and cover-ups are normal.
These criminals must be brought to book and pay for their crimes. The culture of impunity just because you are a politician in government MUST END!
Wake up Zambians, these crooks are STEALING YOUR FUTURE right in front of your eyes.
Insala ya mu Zambia eee mwana mayo, mulandu waba smuggler
Smuggler smuggler wapwisha ubunga
I AM NOT COMMENTING ON THE SMUGGLING BUT POLICE: IT IS OBVIOUS TO SEE WHY MOST PROSECUTIONS CASES FAIL IN ZAMBIA. AS MUSENGE SAID (I am not supporting Musenge), POLICE WORKING PROFESSIONALLY WOULD HAVE FOLLOWED THE LORRY, SAY IN A PRIVATE VEHICLE TO CATCH THE DRIVER CROSSING THE BORDER AND WITH WHICH EXPORT DOCUMENTS. JUST IMPOUNDING A LORY WITHIN ZAMBIA’S BORDERS BECAUSE IT IS LADEN WITH MAIZE ISN’T SENSIBLE ENOUGH FOR CONCLUDING INTENT TO SMUGGLE AND THEREFORE REASONABLE FOR PROSECUTION. OUR POLICE ARE SO DULL ONE WOULD BE COMPELLED TO THINK ZAMBIA IS MORE SAFE WITH POLICE DOGS OUT-NUMBERING HUMAN POLICE THAN OTHERWISE. MOST OF THEM HAVE NO COMMON SENSE WHEN IT COMES TO USING IT.
Your Lorry is caught by the police and your lament that the police should have tracked it to the border are unfounded as long as the police have evidence through documentations that such a track was DRC bound. You expected the Police to worst or burn more fuel at tax payers expense just to prove that a Honourable man has crisscrossed the honour given to him. A honourable man can still be told to stop chasing up a young girl and still feel guilty. Where is your integrity? Listen to yourself …..my driver….my account.. ..bla..bla just some proper worked out moves…Zambia my Zambia…
There is PF for you. When masses are struggling with high mealie meal prices senior PF leadership is involved in smuggling the commodity. Musing today, yesterday it was Lubinda and as usual Edgar will not do anything. How can anyone in their right ind support such a corrupt party?
PF is a bunch of uncaring, selfish looters. Wherever there’s money to be made, they will flock there – Zesco, Eurobonds, RDA, FRA. PF are like ticks on a cow, demanding free food without investing effort and care. That’s why us bakachema hate them.
#ChagwaMustFall
This shameless man has literally thrown his employee under the bus to save his equally shameless ego. Why is it so difficult for Afrikan leaders to own up? Is it because they have neglected jail conditions or what? Does dignity have to be wrung out of a spirit blighted by insensitivity, greed and cunning? Afrika is characterized by leaders hanging on like ticks, breaking laws with impunity, forging documents to stay afloat, stealing from a population that already has nothing much and so on. I cringe and I grieve…
That’s a common trait with the corrupt and greedy when their back is against the wall they go in Self Preservation mode just like the greedy Bankers on Wall Street who blamed the immigrates and poor people for the 2008 crash.
There u have it! They busy issuing threats and insults @ the opposition nd the millers wen in fact its them and fra. No one is above the law, so arrest that baboon Musenge and take him to court en-rout to jail.
Corruption always fights back. You need to be clean to survive its ferocious attacks. It destroys you, so that it covers its tracks and prospers. I know because I have been its victim. Be warned!
A nice one there Bee Esi
So if follow the money it leads to this minister’s account which he says his driver uses and he has no knowledge of what comes in…really laughable….these people are all in it from State House and they are busy blaming others.
PF ministers in collusion with FRA official are ones that have brought hunger and misery. ?n eastern province its the same, Forie Tembo, minister, Pf chairman, the list is endles. PF out
When the truck was caught, the police police were jittery hoping it came from the HH or GBM, however the result is opposite. PF has been playing a dirty game of throwing rubbish in the neighbor’s yard and later deny it. How can we trust such a party again by giving them five years more.
Musenge you sound biased and guilty. Shame on you and your PF.
Mr. Musenge, it was you or your driver avoiding to pay tax?
Mushota, your comments really tell the type of person you are…a very troubled being. Going by your claims that you reside in Europe, you should have been civil by now.
Have you just crawled from under a rock and just logged on LT today??
Comment:your name is coming up too often! You re just a wrong guy!
Musenge must be Kudos.
I wouldn’t be surprised. Such an uncouth character.
It is not smuggling. Foreign trade is not bad and is an opportunity for Zambian farmers to gain good profits. It may be bad for urban consumers, but Zambia needs to feed the region. Only politicians, in their myopic ways see foreign trade as smuggling.
Local transportation of mealie meal no crime…we still need mwenya in chimwemwe
…his driver..his truck..his boys…..meanwhile he claims he is not connected…..let him show a letter of indemnity….
..and more serious his account….
..his premises ..his company….
PF are like flies to faeces, before finishing the eurobond, they were all congregating round road building, forgetting about other work. Now they are all congregating around FRA ignoring their respective ministries.
Damn this country and it’s cry babies called citizens! We cry all day about being landlocked when in fact we’re landlinked – linked all around to about eight hungry neighbour. Eight, and that includes drought prone SA! Why for once won’t we realise that this country has discovered white oil in the name of maize. Yet we continue to cry, worse still, what should be called exporting is now termed smuggling; and this is folly coming from the hub of Central-southern Africa where export should be the word. Makes the topic ‘diversification’ sound hollow.
@Chalo,
If you have been following the goings-on in Zambia of late, you will note that the maize in question is suspected to have been ‘bought’ from FRA.
No one is against genuine export so long as you add value before exporting, i.e. mill the maize within Zambia first, any thereby create business for millers and jobs for Zambians, then and only then you export the mealie meal.
Ok, so just to clear my head, what is the crime here..!?
The crime here is that this maize was ‘bought’ from FRA. Catch my drift?
@Cactus, ok I catch your drift, buying maize from FRA IS a crime! Ha ha ha…
@Vizungu,
Let me drop a notch and unpack my comment little more.
Yes it is a crime to buy Tax payers’ subsidised maize from FRA, re-bag it to remove any traces of FRA, and then smuggle it out of the Country. Clearly you have not been following the goings-on back home.
mushota afunika pwanya nini..she’s a lunatic and tribal
This also happened in Ndola when trucks loaded with mealie meal were impounded.ZANIS rushed there,but the mission was aborted when the PS saw that the trucks in question belonged to Kambwili another PF senior official.This was on thursday last week.Zambia were are we going?Musenge is now talking about law but just a while ago,a chililabombwe bussinessman had his goods impounded and he had all the documentations pertening his bussiness.But with you it is not an offence to transport 1000 bags right!Lets be fair bane………
‘Buying’ maize from FRA and ‘transporting 1000 bags’ IS now a crime! Ha ha ha
@Vizungu.
@Vizungu,
Yes it is a crime to buy Tax payers’ subsidised maize from FRA, re-bag it to remove any traces of FRA, and then smuggle it out of the Country.
And this is how ECL lost the election….
Looters!! kwena ni gonga iyi, Mwati twalapusuka na corruption iyi pa zed.
They are following HH foot steps. Unless we put HH where he belongs Zambians will continue thieving to be herosw.
Nemwe They are following HH foot steps. Unless we put HH where he belongs Zambians will continue thieving to be herosw.
Yes, well said
HH belongs in state house.
So bloggers: Jericho and Poke has proved to be one person. Who else Peters, Kudos?
Muponyo (mushota) mudiidi wako sokwe yebo!
Cactus, I hear you. But my concern is that at no point in our life as a nation have we counted our blessings – peace, health climatic conditions and endless sways of rich soils; and, now, all-weather roads to various corners of our country. Really the issue is not about FRA maize being smuggled, it is about depleting dwindling reserves of Maize. We have only produced about 2.3 million tonnes in the face of more than 15 million metric tones of regional demand, to say nothing about local demand. About time we fed our nation and the region.
#MUSHOTA waba ichiny.o mu kwapa.
Mr. Musenge, how can you lease out your truck, trading license, warehouse, Chimanga Changa Account & possibly Bank Account out to your driver & your driver also leases himself out from you to smuggle mealie-meal? “But Mr Musenge said at no time did he engage himself in illegalities such as mealie-meal smuggling despite being a businessman throughout his life.” How can you fail to engage yourself in illegalities when you yourself you are an illegality, with all these illegal leases you are involved in? At your level you are supposed to be involved in farming thousands and thousands of hatres of maize for export, mining, not buying & re-selling which is for Kaponyas. No wonder our country does not develop because we like doing small jobs at higher level.
What about legalising smuggling. When the price of maize is high enough home and abroad, everyone in need of money will surely go farming.
And Zambians will surely have employment and be rich.
But what are you going to eat when the stocks are finished? Weevils…as you dont want to diversify.
Police should clearly investigate. Musenge is a businessman like HH so what’s the beif bakachema..
Comment:Pathetic failures for you
Thats pf for u we where told that there is curtile on mealie meal so now pf has ben stealng on us and putng a blame on the oposition and mealiers this is disgustng i feel like vomtng
When zPost vourier truckd sre impounded with copper it is not smuggling but when trucks for Musenge are impounded it is smuggling Zambia for u
*****s! U think us zambians don’t know u dirty game imwee ba bambwee? We know what u do in those offices so is GOD watching and soon it will be over than u expect coz its too much of u misusing our resources for personal gain which is wrong as a person in authority,last week we head this man has been bought a house ku dubai under what conditions?? There must be strings attached to this,its not free or its a pay back thing!
This dependency on Maize needs to stop. You scream for development, diversification now you argue about bags of maize! Let’s grow and eat other things. Looks like our maize is our next biggest export earner after copper!
Let’s earn good GDP from our maize , Patriots eat Cassava, Yam etc.
Honestly in which country do you hear people screaming about Rice being sold abroad. The shortage will be rectified by good rains.