Opposition leader Hakainde Hichilema says he is not shaken following the call out issued by the Zambia Police Service for interrogations next week.

Intelligence sources have indicated that the state is likely to arrest and charge Mr Hichilema for allegedly inciting people to riot after he claimed that ZAFFICO has been sold.

Speaking through his Deputy Press Secretary Brian Mwiinga, Mr Hichilema says Zambians should be ready for anything.

“I can state that the President is safe and no amount of threats will shake him and stop him from speaking the truth, he is actually 10 times stronger,” Mr Mwiinga said.

“Like he said yesterday; even if they arrest him, that won’t grow our country’s economy or indeed stop the uncoordinated PF leadership’s corruption and tyranny reasoning. In fact they will just further annoy the country,” he stated.

Mr Mwiinga said People have been made angry and hungry already by the PF adding that people know the end results when they are in such a state.

“Therefore, the President is in high spirits and ready for any eventualities.”

He added, “His call is that the country must remain strong and not allow those plundering both public and donor funding to derail them from calling a spade, a spade,” Mr Mwiinga said.

Yesterday, Police summoned United Party for National Development President Hakainde Hichilema to appear before the Copperbelt Police Division in Ndola.

According to a callout issued by the Deputy D. C. I.O, Gloria Mulele, Mr. Hichilema should report to Ndola police on Wednesday next week for investigations.

Mr. Hichilema is alleged to have incited people on the Copperbelt to riot over the alleged sale of ZAFFICO, a state owned company involved in the timber industry to the Chinese investors.

The UPND Leader has however denied ever inciting anyone to riot.

Government has announced that it will float ZAFFICO shares on the Lusaka Securities Exchange to enable it raise capital.

Police have summoned UPND President Hakainde Hichilema to appear before the Copperbelt Police Division in Ndola.

According to a callout issued by the Deputy D. C. I.O, Gloria Mulele, Mr. Hichilema should report to Ndola Police Headquarters on Wednesday next week for investigations.

Some PF supporters have been pressuring the police to arrest Mr. Hichilema for allegedly inciting people on the Copperbelt to riot over the alleged sale of ZAFFICO, a state owned company involved in the timber industry.

Mr Hichilema has denied ever inciting anyone to riot when he appeared Hot Fm breakfast show where presenter Hope Chishala asked him to provides proof that ZAFFICO had been sold.

Chishala wanted to know why Hichilema said ZAFFICO had been sold to Chinese nationals when he featured on a Sun Fm radio show and if the opposition leader had incited the riot that rocked Kitwe earlier in the week.

But Hichilema kept insisting that he did not incite anybody to riot as PF officials were claiming.

“I did not incite anybody to riot, let’s state that very clear. My position is that I incited nobody to riot. What is true is that citizens are aware of what is going on in the country. They are aware of the ZNBC situation,” Hichilema told Hot FM.

Mr Hichilema is reportedly to have later called News Diggers saying he knew the strategy that the PF government was using against him, and that he did not want to fall in their trap by answering questions from a sponsored journalist.

“I am way ahead of them. I know exactly what they are doing. I did not fail to answer the question around the sale of ZAFFICO. You I can tell you because you are truly an independent media. I know that they are using the listing of ZAFFICO on the stock exchange in order to facilitate the systematic take over by the Chinese. If you ask them today, which Zambians are going to buy the shares of ZAFFICO once it’s listed? People don’t have food to eat, they have no money to buy shares in ZAFFICO, so it’s them and their Chinese friends who will buy the shares and eventually remove it from the stock exchange, is that not a sale?” asked Hichilema.

The Zambian government has officially announced that they will sale ZAFFICO by floating its shares on the Lusaka Stock Exchange.

The Zambia Consolidated Copper Mines Investment Holdings has refuted reports suggesting that Ndola Lime Company Limited is being sold describing the claims as unfounded and false.

ZCCM-IH Public Relations Manager Loisa Kakoma explained that two former Ndola Lime employees applied to Court to place the company under supervision pursuant to the Corporate Insolvency Act number 9 of 2017.

Mrs. Kakoma said by order of the Court dated 5th October 2018, the Official Receiver was appointed as Interim Business Rescue Administrator of Ndola Lime and ZCCM-IH is seeking legal redress regarding the aforementioned proceedings.

She said ZCCM-IH has over the past 10 years invested over K1 billion in Ndola Lime Company in form of debt and equity in an effort to turnaround the loss-making operations of the Company into profitability.

Mrs. Kakoma said Ndola Lime has however faced several challenges among them technical, financial, market and human resource issues.

“The plant has been unable to produce to nameplate capacity because of failure to fully commission and optimise the new coal fired vertical kiln (“VK2”) due to technical factors. In addition, the company has been reporting losses over the past seven years with a current debt stock standing at approximately K800 million”, Mrs. Kakoma added.

She said ZCCM-IH remains committed to the affairs of Ndola Lime Company and will continue to pursue all activities that better the Company and ZCCM-IH’s investment.

Mrs. Kakoma said part of this includes the consideration of engaging technical staff from Ndola Lime Company to work in the ZCCM-IH new Cement Plant in Masaiti, as the technical processes and operations are similar.

National Restoration Party President Elias Chipomo has written to President Edgar Lungu requesting that he gets involved in the matter involving the death of Vespers Shimunzhila, a fourth year student at the University of Zambia who died due to suffocation a month ago.

Mr. Chipimo said President Lungu’s status does not only confer privilege but it confers responsibility and with the power at his disposal, he can order an independent investigation as well as an independent inquiry under the Inquiries Act that the public releases the coroner’s report into the cause of Vespers’ death.

In a letter made available to the media, Mr. Chipimo said the President can also ensure that the police investigation of this matter will not be a coverup by facilitating the engagement of an independent investigation team that could include one or more local and foreign experts with proven integrity.

Mr. Chipimo said the President can also assure Vespers’ family and the nation that no stone will be left unturned in getting to the truth of what transpired on that fateful night.

Below is the Full Letter

Greetings President Lungu

Justice for Vespers Shimunzhila

It is now more than a month since Vespers Shimunzhila’s life was so cruelly taken away by the hand of a man who may well be a father himself and who ,as an ordinary Zambian,must surely know what it means to lose a loved one.I doubt there is any Zambian that has not experienced painful loss and bereavement,yourself included.

The author and speaker, Simon Sinek says leadership boils down to two things: empathy and perspective.Perhaps you do not understand the outrage and outpouring of grief over the death of an innocent young girl in her prime because she was not your daughter.I can tell you,however,that as a leader,this is exactly how you should consider this matter. To do so,you need to ask yourself some hard questions.
1.If Vespers was your very own daughter how would you feel about the way she died?
2. What would you do?
3. What Justice would you want to see done?
4.Would you wish this situation on anyone else?

A person with even an ounce of humanity would not let a matter like this rest if they had the power to prevent it from happening again. This is the power you have Mr.President. Your status does not only confer privilege,it confers responsibility.With the power at your disposal you can order an independent investigation as well as an independent inquiry under the Inquiries Act: you can order the public release of the coroners report into the cause of Vespers death: you can ensure that the police investigation of this matter will not be a cover up by facilitating the engagement of an independent investigation team that could include one or more local and foreign experts with proven integrity: you can assure Vespers family and the nation that no stone will be left unturned in getting to the truth of what transpired on that fateful night: you can assure the nation that there will be no scared cows when it comes to identifying who was ultimately responsible for giving the order to fire teargas canisters into student hostels.

In addition,Mr.President you can convene a meeting of all stakeholders (representatives of public motorists,students ,police local council,business houses ,members of parliament and councillors) to determine the best options for ensuring that an incident like this never happens again and to mount a public campaign of support for an end to student riots that damage other peoples’s property and the police brutality that has tended to accompany it.There can be no doubt that it was wrong for a handful of students to take to the streets in the early hours of the morning and damage private property. It was equally wrong for the police to respond with brutality.particularly by firing teargas canisters into the room of sleeping female students that played no part in any of the disturbances.You can also offer your deepest and most sincere condolences and apology to Vespers family and to the nation for not having acted sooner and more decisively in this matter,after all the Bible says ” The end of a matter is better than its beginning.”(Ecclesiastes 7:8)

In this instance, it is not what you haven’t done that will count when people assess your leadership Mr.President,but what you chose to do when you finally realised what you ought to have done in the first place.The Bible also says:”He then who knows the good he ought to do and doesn’t do it.” (James 4:17)

Mr.President,I urge you to do the good you ought to do and deliver justice for Vespers.That precious young soul may no longer be with us but it is not too late for you to do the right thing.

Elias C. Chipimo
National Restoration Party (NAREP)

Vice President Inonge Wina says xenophobic attacks on Chinese nationals is politically motivated.

Mrs. Wina says the intention of those inciting the attacks is to turn investors away from the country and discourage foreign direct investment.

The Vice President said that this is detrimental to the economic well-being of the country.

Mrs. Wina said foreign direct Investment is essential to any nation’s empowerment.

She pointed out that people who do not mean well for the country are behind the attempts to chase Chinese nationals away.

[ZNBC]