Former Lusaka Province Minister Bowman Lusambo has revealed how President Hakainde Hichilema personally instructed the Anti-Corruption Commission to have him detained over the Easter holidays.
Reacting to ACC Spokesperson Queen Chibwe who said Mr Lusambo has been elusive, the Kabushi MP said he had been aware of the plot by the ACC to detain him for a longer period without a charge.
In an interview, Mr Lusambo stated he has never been elusive and has always presented himself to ACC or any investigative agencies for interrogation whenever called upon.
He has since charged that the move to place the ACC, Drug Enforcement Commission and the Financial Intelligence Centre at State House has compromised the fight against corruption.
Mr Lusambo stated that President Hichilema instructed ACC Acting Director-General Silumesi Muchula to ensure that he was put behind bars at Chimbokaila for the entire duration of Easter.
He said President Hichilema was agitated following a lone protest to UK Minister for Africa Vicky Ford on the deteriorating human rights situation in Zambia and instructed the ACC to have him detained without charge.
Mr Lusambo said he became aware of the manoeuvres by the ACC to circumvent the law and inconvenience him during Easter after receiving information from people close to Mr Muchula.
“President Hichilema wanted me to be taken to Chimbokaila for seven days right into Easter. The ACC led by Silumesi swung into action on the pretext that they are revoking my Bond issued after the initial arrest, I am not sure why Silumesi would insist on revoking my Bond when the matter is now in court and the Magistrate has now converted that Bond into Bail and even extended it?”
He added, “On Wednesday, April 13th 2022 between 10:30 Hours and 11:30 Hours, on a long phone call which I was able to access, Silumesi revealed details of the entire operation to throw me to Chimbokaila for no apparent reason. He told my friends that it was President Hichilema who instructed them to have me detained over Easter because the President was agitated that Bowman is causing so much noise, especially after the Vicky Ford protest.
“These people wanted to revoke a non-existent Bond as a way of caging me. That Bond was converted into Bail the day I appeared before Magistrate Hamaundu. On the same phone call, Silumesi claims I am interfering with Witnesses when they have never availed any list of Witnesses to court, so how am I going to guess that out of 18 million Zambians, this one and that one are ACC witnesses?”
Mr Lusambo warned the ACC Acting Director-General not to abuse his office by carrying out unlawful instructions.
“Silumesi knows that what the President asked him to do was illegal, even his officers that camped at my house the entire Wednesday last week looking for me told me that they didn’t agree with the entire operation because the allegations of witness tempering were bogus and that even the entire case was weak. I challenge him to deny if he never spoke to someone on Wednesday last week and confirmed that it was HH who wanted to lock me up,” he said.
“In that phone call, Silumesi was telling my colleagues that this whole operation was supervised by State House and that even the people who were looking for Bowman were OP Officers and not ACC officers but how can he as Acting D.G allow his unit to be so infuriated. I heard him claiming that they were so sure they would get me on the same Wednesday before close of day as they were closing in my location because they were monitoring all my phone calls. Silumesi was boosting that once they get me, it would please President Hichilema.”
He added, “My lawyers were in constant touch with the ACC. They asked them to avail the reasons they wanted me at their offices so that they could prepare my response but Silumesi was dodgy because all he wanted to have access to me so that he could carry out the orders to look me up to seven days at Chimbokaila hoping they would break me.”
Mr Lusambo further accused the ACC of moving in to seize his residence after they failed to arrest him.
“This was just a reaction. Even though Queen Chibwe knows that the house they claim to have seized is not part of the charges in court, they tried to attach that house on the court papers on two occasions but they always remove it because they know I built it using my personal funds even before I became a Minister. The issue of seizing my house only came up after they failed to locate me. They need to be professional and sincere about their work, carrying out illegal instructions won’t help them.”
The Kabushi MP has since appealed to the international community to take keen interest in the manner the UPND administration is going about the fight against corruption.
“What we have here is not the fight against corruption, we have a President hell bent on crushing his perceived political rivals on the pretext of fighting corruption and the international community and Diplomats serving here in Zambia should take notice of this before we breed a full-blown dictator,” he said.
Hh is a very frustrated angry boy. You see when you are full of hate not even presidency can make your life happy. He is a saddist who cannot stand seeing other people doing well. Can he tell us his source of wealth and provide evidence? Ati I build a housw in compound and now am billionaire. Haha
Mbuzi
Why doesn’t hh fire kakubo and all the other upnd figure caught with their pants down indulging in corrupt practices? Hh only fights corruption against those in opposition and who are not from stronghold areas like southern and western provinces.
Just Shurrup
said President Hichilema was agitated following a lone protest to UK Minister for Africa Vicky Ford on the deteriorating human rights situation in Zambia and instructed the ACC to have him detained without charge
YOU SHOULD HAVE THOUGHT OF THIS AS ADMINISTERED OUR CAPITAL CITY.
However we should put an end to this harassment of former leaders…. don’t sensetionalize their arrests like you have just killed a lion… remember your time to leave office will one day come to an end.
THIS CHAP NEEDS MEDICAL ATTENTION
I SUSPECT HE MAY BE A NUTTER
HE NOT ACTING LIKE A NORMAL STABLE POLITICAN AND THINKS RIDING A BIKE WILL GET SYMPAPHY
I DOUBT IT VERY MUCH
The guilty are afraid of even their own shadows.
So he wasn’t on vacation neither was he accessing medical treatment… when a bulldozer has a puncture…
BLA….BLA…..BLA…..the same music,same cries…… it is getting outdated !
Lusambo just face the law……, all that protesting during UK Minister for Africa Vicky Ford visit, was a staged scene, for you to use as an argument against your cases. Please, stop fooling Zambians to get sympathy. Zambians were not part of your suspected looting, you were alone with your wife, so man-up and face it and stop baby-crying.
YES, LT is PRO – PF, anytime you mention these people like LVSHAMBO , then they MODERATE. The same id.iots crying for FREEDOM of SPEECH, but they are NOT practising it, still favouring PF CADERS.
SHAME ON YOU BA LT !!!! YOUR KA BLOG IS NOW USELESS FULL OF FAKE NEWS and FULL OF MODERATIONS THAT FAVOUR Fi PF.
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I will be done with this newspaper…..waste of time.
@4 – Riding is commendable – it’s good for your health and the environment. If most people used bicycles, they would be fitter and breath in cleaner air.
#plant a tree please.
Hehehehe…………
Lusambo….
You are nothing but a common criminal……..
Who would take notice of your demonstrations ???
Ati “….I build that house before I was a minister….”
But you were boasting on video how it cost you k57 million ………..$3 million then……
When did you have that money before you were a minister ????
Look at this boy crying about spending Easter in prison when these clowns were throwing people in Maximum prison for trumped up charges of treason …realy laughable…he is still boasting that he has people inside these organisations. This one wont know what him when he is sentenced as he is one reckless boy.
Deja Vu – Who is harassing who? All crooks will answer for their crimes including your mates
THE ONLY THINK I LIKE ABOUT ZENNIA IS
#PLANT A TREE
THAT PROBABLY IS THE ONLY SENSIBLE BLOG ON HERE
Tarino your stubborn tonga brain continues to refuse to accept thqt your demigod hh obtained his wealth through questionable means. Farrrrrk offf,!!!!
@ Tikki – how fit are you? I do hope you ride a bicycle – at least, even only at the weekend…with your children. Isn’t that much healthier than driving around in your SUVs? Ride a bicycle for two weeks, and tell me what happens to your body!
#plant a tree please.
I would be fulish to believe Lusambo
When this Lusambo guy was flashing and flaunting money like that, we knew there was something terribly wrong and he now wants to blame HH for things of his own making.
HH is just okay, leave him out of your banditry issues. He is not the one who told you be pinching, and now you strategically want to lay blame on him, are you not the one who was giving money in stadias, just answer for your sins without bringing HH in your previous schemes and don’t think people are fulish
Typical of these PF plunderers to lay blame on the President.
@ Zennia cycling is indeed good exercise for the serious minded on wellness. The misrepresentation with former Lusaka province minister is that he is doing it only to attract attention as he chooses to ride when summoned to an interview with investigative agencies. I don’t recall a time that he rode his bicycle as minister or even as “Die Hard” bootlicker in MMD. At least ECL was an exercise fanatic since he maintained his jogging schedule mornings! Planting a tree? Good idea only where? Probably an NGO call or responsible agency to the general public for individuals to sponsor a sapling for their access to plant wherever designated.
Let me get this straight: So grown men and women are failing to carry out their duties by invoking State House at every whim? Could this be the case? And what is State House? The Presidency itself? Nifunsa cabe… vakanga vintu. This is why people are saying they cut deals with “State House” manje…
Bowman come home then, than ranting away from home. You figment of imagination of locking up people over Easter holidays was practiced by your PF regime. The Vicky Ford lone protest is a plus to HH. While you locked him, he is given you freedom to protest. To remind you, Vicky Ford and all the international community is aware what sort of this cry baby Bowman Lusambo is. A former ruthless government official, now facing corruption charges on the run. Come home, your lawyers said Lusambo will avail himself, typical of your character as fraudster, have lied to your lawyers and now calling from outside the country – South Africa. Come home running away is counter productive – ask Xavier Chungu who got tired and came back
@ FuManchu – Don’t show your complete lack of vision, or am I lost with what you are saying? You are asking where a tree might be planted in Zambia?? Have you been to Lusaka in recent years? It’s brown and dusty – not pleasant; something we didn’t have when I was growing up – 1969! The city suburbs were leafy and smog free! You don’t need NGOs coming in to give you saplings to improve your own wellbeing; use initiative, beginning with your own garden. And about Mr Lusambo, don’t get me wrong. My highlighting the benefits of bicycle riding, is not in any way supporting Mr Lusambo’s supposed underhand activities. Of course, he might have been posturing – but that’s besides the point! Riding is good for your health – whatever the motive!
#plant a tree please!
Ecl should have tamed this wild guy named bowman… he’s behaviour is like that of a radicalized terrorist.
There is no way you can be involving hh in all you wrong doings to society.
You defense tactics will not help, just prepare legal defense
You have been selling yourself to law enforcement the whole time you were in government
“You steal so that you can live well in future” even showing off a wrist watch on you arm as you sold yourself to acc and alike and now you want to put hh in this matter
Nigerians will say how go hh enter the matter
Kikiki….kamu lele ….there’s always a solution for every predicament.