Thursday, March 28, 2024

Laura Miti, Pilato and others released

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Human rights activist Laura Miti, singer Pilato and three other demonstrators were released around 23 Hours on Friday night from police custody.

This was after the six were forcibly arrested after they staged a demonstration outside Parliament buildings over the controversial purchase of 42 fire trucks at a cost of US$42 million.

Laura and another female protestor Mika Mwambazi who were held at Garden Police Post were set free around 23 Hours without any charge.

The male protestors who included Pilato, Opposition PeP President Sean Tembo and Zambia Council for Social Development Executive Director Lewis Mwape who had been held at Emmasdale Police were also allowed to go around the same time.

Police Spokesperson Esther Katongo who had confirmed that Ms. Miti, opposition PeP leader Sean Tembo, singer Pilato, and other protesters were released on K2,000 police bond each.

This was after police charged the six with the offence of “disobeying lawful orders” contrary to clause 127 Cap 87 of the laws of Zambia.

The protesters are expected to appear in court on October 27, 2017.

PeP President Sean Tembo confirmed the release of the six demonstrators.

“This is to advise that we have been released from the unlawful detention by the Zambia Police Service following our lawful protest at Parliament this afternoon over the $42 million fire tender scandal. I will issue a comprehensive press statement tomorrow morning,” Mr Tembo.

71 COMMENTS

    • They should never have been arrested in the first place. Charges should be dropped immediately – why waste the States money on such a case??? Let’s be serious with life people! If we continue down this path we are headed for doom! Kampyongo must leave and resign pedding investigations on himself by the State! A bitter pill is best swallowed fast as oppossed to letting it stay on the tongue! Same with such corrupt elements in govt- they are better being fired! Well done to Piliato and Laura Miti standing up for all Zambians!

    • I don’t like pilato. I wouldn’t want to be touched by a guy who looks like that. Yuk!

      Not my type !

      Thanks

      BB2014,2016

    • Mushota,

      if you “wouldn’t want to be touched by a guy who looks like that”, why don’t you just shut up?
      Has he asked to touch you?

    • Mushota….I would puke in pants if you stood next to me, people like you make me sick….you are one ugly stink $&&;…just shut your stink mouth for once…you are nothing…worthless.

      Getting to the real issues the PF gov released these guys because they don’t want this issue to escalate to another level….this won’t go away the country wants the answers real answers not plastic ones… we are talking about $42000 000dollars not $10000.
      Sorry PF folks just pay back the money you did not purchase those trucks for $1,000,000,a peace. As my grandfather used to say there is no short cut in life….the truth will come out.

    • Jonathan and his people don’t know what they are doing??,, why did you arrest them if you didn’t know what the charge would be

    • There is a crusade and innuendo to hound me from LusakaTimes

      It seems even when I make good valid points < I am voted down and belittled.

      Ivo, MB are major culprits who want to see my demise, I am sick and tired of being disliked by our kind, when I am just a nice person who comments to seek Justice and the truth.

      Clearly I am recherche and unless this stops, I will leave LT, you have been warned

      Dweny, dont even start

      I hold a PhD

      Thanks

      BB2014,2016

    • @Mushota don’t leave. Surely do want to concede defeat to HH cadres who have lost for a record 6 times? Bembas DON’T quit. kosafye mwaiche

    • Dear Mushota,

      you wrote “I am sick and tired of being disliked”.

      Well, I am sure you won’t be ‘disliked’ as soon as you stop promoting yourself (e.g. your nauseous PhD) and instead come up with proper arguments with which we can agree, or not agree.
      Your wrote “unless this stops, I will leave LT”.
      This (unless you change) actually is not a threat but, at present, rather a welcome promise.

  1. ATTENTION SEEKERS…..DOOM-SAYERS…
    UGLY AND DIRTY

    WHY HAVE YOU RELEASED THEM?????? ….POLICE ALSO !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

  2. So Pf Police, What Have You Gained?
    Was This A Harassment/intimidation Or You Followed The Constititution?

    Even If You Try To Intimidate Us, We Are Not Going To Stop Asking For Answers Until The So Called Ministers And Everyone Involved Tell Us The Truth.

  3. There is no need to take them to court as this will bring the name of our President into disrepute. Chief Government spokesperson should have made a clear statement acknowledging people’s concern on the matter. She should have then made exhaustive consultations and pointed out where strengths and weaknesses were in the procurement process and also faults in discretions that the law provides, which enabled the evaluation committee reject lower priced bidders. She should have even mentioned that the Minister is not involved in these processes but the Evaluation Committee, PS, Management Tender Committee (MTC) and ZPPA. Equally she should have been categorical that the President’s name was just being brought in for political expediency and that the President was no where near this matter…

  4. .look at the people in attendance.this is a good reason for people to demonstrate.this money if it was put to good use how many who have benefited.zambian let stand up for ourselves no one will do it for us.what will our children think of us when we are gone.let fight for a better zambia which works for all people .misuse of public funds in this government is too much.no where in the world you can buy $1 million fire truck. Only in zambia.

    • “what will our children think of us when we are gone”

      Your kids will never understand how you could deliberately elect a known thief to be president!!

  5. Hi everyone, l made money yester day 150dollrs With the link below, you can be adding the number then your money will be growing in on the left. You regster then start working it start with 10cents then it grows when you add numbers. When you get to 150 dollars you can withdrow. its unlimited and you can use it for part time or extra earning.

  6. Pilato belongs to the group of those who worship the devil just like his boss HH. Look at Laura, she looks an agent of the devil too. We don’t need such idiiots in this country.

  7. ‘Disobeying Lawful Orders’? The orders to stop the excercise of democratic rights are unlawful!
    The police are now taking sides with plunderers, thieves and criminals.
    This is now a ‘Government of criminals by criminals and for criminals’!!!

  8. THIS IS NOT THE END MORE DEMOS ARE COMING. THIS IS JUST THE BEGINING. HH ARREST, LAURA ARRESTED, AND ZAMBIANS WILL SOON ON ARREST. LATER ON SOLDIERS WILL BE ARRESTED

    • Zambia – ALL ZAMBIANS – have already been arrested. It is the denial of thier basic human RIGHTS called State of Emergency !!!

  9. Boma ni Boma, so what has Laura and her minions achieved. How I wish they spent more days in their new hotel for insulting the President.

    • kumawa ,are you narrow minded?Do you think its only zambia following what is going on?If you were patriotic enough you would have by now realised how we are sliding down on the ladder of a once democratic and good governance scale.A little education would let you understand thateven your international debts you like borrowing are on conditions of good governance.You as a national of this country has lost.When your children go to school do they get quality education?When sick do you get expected health care?do you have services (public) meeting your expections?Well if no then thats the opportunity you will continually lose because these misused resources could have helped your brothers and sisters.

  10. I miss my student days… We have let our country down. Only a handful of people demonstrating over an issue of national importance?

    Miti et al. You are my hero’s. My heart is heavy that only a few of you fought for the rest of us.

    Shame on all of us tax payers.

  11. PILATO IS A MAN THANKS MY GUY FOR REMINDING US THAT THATS OUR MONEY ,,,POLICE ARE YOU NOT PART OF ZAMBIA OR MAYBE YOU DON`T PAY TAX…….

  12. All lungu should have done was look annoyed at that price 42 million and state that there was somthing wrong with the evaluation board that needs looking into.

    Instead he has shown every one that he did infact pocket $5 million from this corruption and let kapoyongo try to cover the corruption by intimidating protesters , what a shambles of a presidency ….

    • spaka you are right .How could a leader not be so horrified by the misuse of public funds ,especially if one genuienly is concerned with sky rocketting debt and deteriorating social services.Thriftness should be excercised.

  13. Iwe Spaka we know how HH looted the country during privatisation and going by your voting patterns we can never allow UPND to lead Zambia

    • Who cares if UPND never rule, and if HH did loot let him also be investigated and face the music ? Why are you thieves trying to deflect attention from lungu pocketing 5 million of the 25 million stolen from Zambia in this corrupt fire deal ??

    • @ Mambwe
      Assuming that HH did what you imbeciles are repeating, does that legalese THIS GOVERNMENT GRAND CORRUPTION?
      When you go next time to crap, please follow your brain into sewer pipe.

  14. Please Mushota , Denkede and Mambwe at least for once try to reason. You don’t expose your unreasonableness in public like that. We know for sure that you are somehow connected to these scandals and that is why you are always opposing. Shame on you guys.

  15. The real thieves are not being arrested . The politicians and the dubious business people looting our country should be the ones behind bars

    Kudos to the courageous few who demonstrated . We need to ALL join these protests in huge numbers and bring this regime to account to the Zambian people .

  16. ARTIST & NKHATA BAY………….Who sets the standard of democracy and good governance-The West. We should also have our own home brewed form of democracy based on African values of respect and love devoid of such insults, not one imposed on us where we think freedom is absolute. They impose a form of democracy on us which they don’t practise themselves. Let Africa be Africa. That is good discipline for delinquent Pilato and Laura who are nothing but hired cannons to divide us and for piece of silver they display lack of respect to our national values and our leadership. Zikomo Boma, malabishi Pilato

    • What African values naimwe ?

      Start by wearing a skin g string with no shoes and while you are discarding western values don’t forget to tell your wife to stop wearing those wigs and weave ons , atase ati african values when you can’t survive without western help….

    • Spot on, Kumawa!!! That’s why Rwandese gave Kagame 99% vote and told everyone else to keep their democracy because the same democracy is what allowed the tribalists to carry out the genocide. In Rwanda, disobedience and tribal rubbish is sorted out brutally by their police!!! Meanwhile the same west and these good for nothing diasporans call Kagame a dictator but he has developed and united his country. Pathetic hypocrites. In Africa, from our tradition, respect is paramount, we were raised to respect elders and authority, much like Jesus Christ taught in the Bible. Not this culture of insults, disrespect, bad morals and behavior ati democracy???? Malabishi!!!!

    • @Ba spaka the colonised: Just because you chose to be a fringe citizen and the white man’s kaboyi doesn’t mean you are better than your countrymen and women. Japanese stuck to their values and traditions but they make better cars than the western countries, no??? Chinese, who can’t even speak english and are strongly traditional are the same, right??? We are developing, my chap: Right now we are able to feed ourselves-no maize, tomato, tropical fruit, pork, beef, goat, chicken, vegetable, fish imports, wheat, soya…man, the list is growing!!! We have hundreds of thousands of tailors, it’s a matter of time, we shall start providing our own clothing just like we are already doing with furniture….

    • Ba citizen ati the Japanese and Chinese are doing it………those people don’t steal and loot like you theives in PF……ati we have hundreds of tailors ? Why dont you open Mulungushi textiles ? go to shopright and check for any goods made in zambia , zero…….lungu is busy travelling trying desperately to cover his stolen money with travel allowances while the 31.5 % of budget is made up of borrowing and begging.

      After spending close to $17 billion one would have thought employment and GDP levels increasing but it seems to be getting worse with the theives in charge….

    • You from your little corner cabin the white man has given you cannot know what is on the ground. Young Zambians are setting up chicken runs, piggeries, fish farms etc some are setting up tailoring shops and supplying suits-100% tailored in Zambia. It’s happening my chap!!! It’s time, we are taking charge of our productive destiny. Negative and pessimistic elements like you who abandoned the country hoping for the worst can never see this development.

  17. Why do we always do this arresting people who are standing up for truth what crime have their committed for you to arrests them.,tell me were it says u need to have a permit for u to have a peaceful demonstration
    The ZP has turned into a fake and stupid institution.

  18. @Mambwe:i 100% agree with you.we must educate our people in 6.5 provinces about the voting pattern in bantustan areas.we should also vote like them in 2021 for PF because am sure after HH is defeated for a record 6th time,he wont stand in 2026.by then we shall all support Kambwili or and new leader but not HH.
    As for Pilato and Laura Miti-you got what you deserved.you simply dropped that K2 000 each into a pit latrine and wasted your precious hours behind bars!!!ACC has already cleared the air over the fire engine tender,so what can you do?BOMA DOESNT LOSE ANYTHING!!
    Stop being jealous for your fellow Zambians.if this tender went to a foreign firm,you could have all kept quiet.

  19. @ Mambwe and Njimbu, I have actually said this before. Let the electorate in the 6.5 provinces vote in the same pattern as in the bantustan areas. WE HAVEN’T FORGOTTEN THE NO TONGA NO PRESIDENT ISSUE. And by the way is not at the time when HH was elected their party leader?

  20. That protest at parliament is worth it. Those in government should re examine themselves and come out clean. Its like nobody in govt. is taking full responsibility for the purchase of fire tenders at inflated prices. Everyone is running away and we are not being told the truth. ACC is said to have cleared the tender but people are demanding clear answers on the high cost of the fire tenders. Its a hot cake. In this where does the buck stops at?

  21. Here is the true cost of those trucks……

    google.co.uk/amp/s/www.crawleyhappytimes.co.uk/new-state-of-the-art-fire-engine-for-crawley/amp/

    Can ACC tell us why a truck costing $380 k cost Zambia $1 million. ?

    Period.

  22. Police force and not police service as they want to be addressed, one day you will be jobless like the fake Kakoma Kangaja. When PF is voted out all officers of the ACC to be investigated and arrested for giving the nation false information on the 42 fire tenders.

  23. Its a done deal.Most cocroches on this platform are supporting corruption. Even when your father or mother make a mistake you need as a son to say its wrong. Most zambians dont care whether is broad day theft or robbery.Minions are saying its ok,oil deal its ok shunning the pondium its ok,life president its ok.More than 50% of zambians dont reason not even at low level.More than k700000 per truck has been pocketed.

  24. They have nothing to do in life. Too much time to waste. ACC is looking for evidence of corruption and they have none. Is Laura Miti married?

  25. This case is already decided. A nolle will come to save face. Dont the police know that once they are notified by would be protesters, that protest is then legal. Any instructions to stop the police is unlawful and unconstitutional. If the police gather info that someone wants to disrupt the protesters, those are the ones to be arrested, not the other way around.

  26. It should tead “This is to advise that we have been released from the LAWFUL detention by the Zambia Police Service following our UNLAWFUL protest at Parliament this afternoon over the $42 million…”. Why do UP.NDonkeys and Donkeylets like to twist facts?

    • That’s why kapoyongo was directing arson attacks across Zambia to facilitate this corruption for lungu to pocket $5 million.

      The SOE was enacted to stop all protests to the plunder and looting going on….

  27. mushota who the ass do u think u are…??
    who on earth would want to touch a small demon like u???

    the easiest way to curse ones own life is to touch you….CHI ZAMBIA OPEN IWE

  28. Police should have sent the good for nothing guys ku Mukobeko. Protesting for who? Tamukwete ifyakucita? Rubbish!!! Mwakhuta cani? Well done Police for pumping some sense in these poor vuvuzelas.

  29. TO ME, THIS WAS A USELESS DEMONSTRATION. HOWEVER WE AS A NATION SHOULD BE ALLOWING PEOPLE TO DEMONSTRATE. BUT LET THE ZAMBIANS JUDGE FOR THEMSELVES WHETHER THE DEMONSTRATION WAS WORTH IT OR NOT. NOT THIS WANTON ARREST OF EVEN WORTHLESS DEMONSTRATORS.

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