The Zambia Police Service issued an official statement to categorically refute the baseless and malicious allegations made by the British law firm Leverets Barristers and Solicitors on behalf of Mr. Vinod Sadhu and Mr. Uddit Sadhu, as reported in the British newspaper The Guardian on June 24, 2024, against Mr. Mubita Nawa, Deputy Commissioner of Police and Africa’s esteemed candidate for INTERPOL Secretary General.
It is imperative to note that Mr. Vinod Sadhu and Mr. Uddit Sadhu are currently fugitives of the Zambian legal system and are subjects of an ongoing investigation by the Zambia Police Service. The allegations presented by their legal representatives are entirely unfounded and clearly intended to tarnish Mr. Nawa’s impeccable reputation on the eve of the INTERPOL Secretary General elections.
The Zambia Police Service has discussed this matter with INTERPOL’s Executive Committee and its President. Today, we have formally submitted a complaint to the Executive Committee regarding these unfounded allegations.
These false claims are obviously part of a calculated smear campaign aimed at undermining Zambia’s candidacy and damaging Mr. Nawa’s reputation. The Zambia Police Service stands firmly behind Mr. Nawa, whose integrity and professionalism have been exemplary throughout his distinguished career in law enforcement. His unwavering commitment to justice, professionalism, transparency, and accountability has been recognized both nationally and internationally.
The defamatory statements propagated by Leverets Barristers and Solicitors, and reported by The Guardian, are designed to mislead the public and discredit Mr. Nawa’s long-standing dedication to policing and international cooperation. It is crucial for all concerned parties to recognize these allegations for what they truly are: an attempt to manipulate public opinion and derail Mr. Nawa’s candidacy for personal and nefarious motives.
The Zambia Police urged everyone to consider the source and timing of these allegations and focus on the substantive issues at hand. The Zambia Police Service remains steadfast in its endorsement of Mr. Nawa, confident in his ability to uphold the highest standards of law enforcement and contribute significantly to INTERPOL’s mission.
A letter sent to Interpol by the UK-based law firm Leverets Group on behalf of the Sadhus stated that its clients “have strong grounds to believe that Mr Nawa played a pivotal role in a conspiracy that led to their unlawful kidnap, detention, assault and attempted extortion” in September 2022, when he was a deputy director in the Zambian CID.
It said the Sadhus were “ambushed by assailants posing as duly authorised police officers and bundled into an unmarked van before being taken to a private residence in Lusaka at which they were subject to threats and coercion, before one of the captives managed to raise the alarm using a concealed mobile phone.
“Thereafter they were transferred to a police station where they continued to be subject to threats and coercion by new kidnappers, assailants and extortionists, including Mr Nawa.”
The Sadhus are owners of Sun Pharmaceuticals, a company that was awarded approximately 117m Swiss francs (£105m) by Zambia’s supreme court for overpayment on a loan from the Development Bank of Zambia. The payment, which the government of Zambia bears responsibility for, has yet to be made.
The letter said that since the judgment the Sadhus have been placed “under extreme and illegal pressure” to forgo the payment by people close to the Zambian state, “such as Mr Nawa and his associates”.
It claimed the Sadhus have instituted legal proceedings against serving police officers and government officials for damages related to the September 2022 events, and the case is due to be heard in October this year when Nawa “will be a critical witness”.
A spokesperson for the Sadhus said “The Sadhus have not fled the country. They stayed in Zambia for a year after their abduction but are now out of Zambia because they are fearful of kidnap and violence from the syndicate trying to steal Sun Pharma’s money. No warrants for their arrest have been served on the family or their lawyers.”
He said the courts had dismissed the allegations made against the Sadhus and that the Zambian justice ministry had acknowledged it owed 117m Swiss francs to Sun Pharma.
What are those allegations? The whole article is repetitive without giving us anything substantial. Are you afraid the mentioning of these allegations may bring on board people who know about them.
All in all I would love to see a Zambian take that position.
@Deja Vu – I do not even need to know the allegations – he did that stuff. We all have our experiences with these people.
Why is Nawa writing theee garbage on himself? He sounds so PF.
A senior officer trying too hard.
Usually when police officers are accused of such malicious things in Zambia, these allegations are likely true. The reluctance for Zambia Police to investigate such allegations but merely dismiss them is telling. I have no doubt that Mr. Nawa will lose the election. That said, why are all the key roles going to ‘Nawas’. I hope HH and his supporters understand that they are creating a framework for a lengthy exclusion from governance for certain tribes in the future.
Currently the ZP have been captured by the UPND govt. Why should a person from a dysfunctional police service be given a job by Interpol, a reputable organization?
This is not a genuine response – the Police have not replied to the issue with any details on the allegation of the kidnapping. Did they conduct any investigation ? Please release your findings to the public. However, do NOT expect readers to believe this press statement based on your mere word. Zambia Police is well known for human rights abuses.
We live in a cader police stare. No respect for the rule of law
I want to believe this President meant what he said but some police officers are just too corrupt; this corruption was there before HH don’t forget.
Iyee,ati cadre cader police state? Did you ever live during in the pf era?
Let’s not forget the episode of gold smuggling at Lusaka International Airport involving senior police and state house officials. This culture of lawlessness cannot be swept under the carpet! We call on our President to do the right thing and hold the guilty in the Police Service to account.
He can’t do anything. He’s been captured.
That was very embarrassing. The head of police at Lusaka airport took USD 50,000 ? The bodyguards from State House USD 5 M? USD 11M missing? What happened to that case? Funny how we have short memories but thank you Malambo.
I read the letter from leverets UK published on whistleblower. The letter mentioned a case filed in the Zambia High Court. Why has this case not been reported by the Media? What are the details? What is mentioned in the Court witness statements that the media will not report the case? Why would any businessmen go to these lengths and risk government retribution unless there is truth in their allegations? I was very happy as diaspora member in Australia when I first read about Zambia in running for Interpol but we are not blind followers of the Zambia Police. Publish court records of the kidnapping which are not secret documents instead of this uninformative press statement.
Catherine never be happy about the wrong ambitions of our police force. They are among the most corrupt in the world. Nowadays corruption is done in the open because they know there’s noone to arrest them. These Police need to be replaced en masse
They thought they can get away just like they are trying to do with JJ Banda and the Airport Gold saga. This is Interpol and not the gullible cadres they are used. The sins of Nawa have caught up with him. Even the abduction of JJ Banda will come back after UPND loses power. All the case like that of Mumbi Phiri will come back and perpetrators will have to pay. Enjoy telling people lies and loadshedding them for now.
I have little doubt about the veracity of these allegations. Too much lawlessness in this country bakwetu! And then we sing: “It’s a small world after all!!!”
Police in Zambia are politically compromised. Now they want to export that culture to Interpol! How will that work?
There are some officers who will literally do anything for promotion… favorable treatment …..from their bosses. Sadly Mubita Nawa looks like such an officer. The big question is on whose instructions was he working that day the Sadhu were kidnapped?
WOW THOSE MEDALS
CAN ONE BUY THEM SOMEWHRE ??
JUST A QUESTION
Nawa your past is catching up with you. You see how when you wrong others it also comes back to haunt you. In this case it’s going to cost you that very lucrative position at interpol. You will just come back to your small desk and small salary at police hq.
……….
It is obvious the Sadhus did not have a politician in their pockets to protect them………
That is the sad reality in our country………
……….
Word is comming it that they were sold down the river by zambian indians……….
Fellow indians let the hyenas loose on them……….
DIG Muyanbango, CID Head Yuyi, Deputy Police Commissioner Nawa are known favorites of the ** UPND parallel structure**. For those who are not aware of this structure, it’s actually in charge of the police and intelligence in Zambia today on behalf of the President and his closest associates in UPND. If Nawa was used in the kidnapping of the Indians then it suggests the presidents men were directly involved in the incident.