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.
