The Daily Nation reports that UPND vice-president for administration Geoffrey Bwalya Mwamba has been evacuated for medical treatment at an undisclosed facility in South Africa.

Family members yesterday confirmed that Mr. Mwamba who was taken ill last week was first admitted and treated at CFB medical centre in Lusaka, but his condition did not improve and doctors recommended his evacuation.

He was subsequently flown to South Africa where he is admitted at a private hospital. Family members who could not immediately accompany him at the point of evacuation have since travelled.

According to sources in South Africa, Mr Mwamba was at a private facility in Johannesburg for treatment for an unspecified condition.

Yesterday the Luanshya Magistrates court was forced to adjourn a case in which Mr. Mwamba and his President, Mr. Hakainde Hichilema have been jointly charged on three counts of seditious practices and unlawful assembly.

Mr. Hichilema also failed to attend the trial because he was reported to be receiving medical attention at Lusaka Trust Hospital and was declared medically unfit for any activity.

This came to light yesterday after Mr Mwamba failed to show up at the Luanshya Magistrate Court where he was scheduled to appear with Mr Hichilema on three counts of seditious practices and unlawful assembly contrary to the laws of Zambia.

When the matter came up for continued trial and defence yesterday, their lawyer, Mr Mulilo Kabesha presented two medical reports as part of evidence.

Mr Kabesha informed the court that the first accused person, Hichilema was receiving medical attention at Lusaka Trust Hospital and was declared medically unfit for any activity while his co-accused was reportedly in South Africa for undisclosed illness.

“We regret the absence of the accused persons in the case before this court as they are indisposed. First accused person is unwell and has been given five days bed rest from 24th August, 2017. I wish to submit the original slip from the hospital.”

“And the second accused Mwamba, has been unwell. He was initially admitted to CFB Medical Centre in Lusaka. There is also a sick note we wish to submit before the court which indicate that he is medically unfit for work from 24th August, 2017.

“Your honour we have information that the condition of the accused is not improving and has since been taken out of the country for medical treatment. I got the information from the other defence lawyer, Mr Tom Shamakamba, who was contacted.

“We tender the two sick notes for the two as part of evidence of their indisposition,” Mr Kabesha said.

He then applied for an adjournment. The State, represented by Deputy chief state advocate Chipola Bako did not object to the application admitting that they had been furnished with the sick notes prior to the court sitting.

Mr Bako proposed to the court that the matter be adjourned to 18th September, 2017 for continued trial.

Ruling over the application, Ndola Chief Resident Magistrate sitting in Luanshya John Mbuzi granted the application and extended bail for the two accused persons.

In count one and two, Hichilema and Mwamba were charged individually with seditious practices contrary to the laws of Zambia.

In count three, the two were jointly charged with unlawful assembly contrary to section 75 as read with section 74 of the penal code and regulation of the Public Order Act.

Particulars are that Hichilema, 54, of house number 14/38 Sable Road, Kabulonga on September, 26, in Mpongwe did conspire with others unknown to bring into hatred, incite violence, resistance, and disobedience to the administration of the elected Government of Zambia by uttering words namely ” nga taba mufumishe Matambo, epo ulubuli lwalatampila.

In count two Mwamba, 57, of house number 10 Roan Road, Kabulonga, was charged with seditious practices.

It is alleged that on September, 26, in Mpongwe, Mwamba conspired with others unknown to bring into hatred, incite violence, resistance, and disobedience to the administration of the elected Government of Zambia by uttering words namely “ifwe pano ngaba UPND tufwile twakana iyi Government yakwa Lungu; ngabamyeba ati kuli ama meeting yaba Lungu mulekana, pantu president wesu ni HH.”

In count three the duo were charged with unlawful assembly.

It is alleged that on September, 26, in Mpongwe being in a public place and while acting together with others unknown did convene, assemble unlawfully with intent to carry out some common purpose without notifying the regulating officer.

President Edgar Lungu has led hundreds of people in Lusaka to the funeral of former Minister of Health Joseph Kasonde. President Lungu arrived at Saint IGNATIUS Catholic Church around 10:15 hours for a Requiem Mass.

Others in attendance are former President Kenneth Kaunda, Chief Justice Ireen Mambilima , Speaker of the National Assembly Patrick Matibini and PF Secretary General Davies Mwila.

Cabinet Ministers and top government officials are also in attendance.

Speaking during the Church Service, Saint Ignatius Parish Priest Charles Chilinda reminded people to use their time on earth for God’s glory.

He said Dr. Kasonde believed in hard work and loved his family.

Father Chilinda hoped that public hospitals will continue applying Dr. Kasonde’s three Cs of Caring, Competency and Cleanliness.

Family friend Marks Sichula said Dr. Kasonde was a good role model in society.

President Lungu described Dr. Kasonde as a gallant son of Zambia.

Speaking when he addressed mourners, the President said Dr Kasonde served his people diligently.

The Head of State said Dr. Kasonde’s hard work made him work as a lecturer at the University of Zambia and an accomplished medical doctor who did not seek his narrow interests.

President LUNGU further said Dr. Kasonde played a big role in transforming the health sector

He stated that he is happy that the current Minister of Health Dr. Chitalu Chilufya is following the footsteps of his predecessor

Meanwhile, Dr. Chilufya said the health fraternity has lost a hero in Dr. Kasonde.

Dr. Chilufya said Dr. Kasonde always encouraged staff to love their families.

EPP leader Chilufya Tayali this morning staged a one-man protest against Inspector General of Police Kakoma Kanganja.

Wearing shorts with no shoes and no shirt and carrying a placard, Mr Tayali called for the resignation of Mr Kanganja.

He started his protest walk from the Freedom Statue and was due to walk to Police Headquarters and present his petition to the I.G.

Mr Tayali said Mr Kanganja’s alleged incompetence should not be allowed to continue as the Zambia Police Service has now being turned into a laughing stock.

PETITION AGAINST UNPROFESSIONALISM, INCOMPETENCE, INEFFICIENCY AND CORRUPTION IN THE ZAMBIA POLICE SERVICE, TO BE PRESENTED TO THE INSPECTO GENERAL OF POLICE, MR. KAKOMA KANGANJA, AT POLICE HEADQUARTERS, ON 29 AUGUST 2017

We are very concerned about the high levels of unprofessionalism, incompetence, inefficiency and abuse of human rights by the Zambia Police Service under your leadership, Mr. Kakoma Kanganja, as Inspector General of Police. We would like to urge you to resign immediately, failure to which, you should change your attitude towards work and start acting professionally. If you cannot do either of the two, we fear for the security of our nation, the citizens, and that of the President, with you heading the police.

Sir, if you take time to go round our police cells, you will find a lot of people detained for cases that they don’t need to be held in police custody for. There are many cases of arbitrary arrests of innocent people, which are congesting our detention facilities.

The police, under your command, are fond of arresting and detaining people illegally, over such matters as personal differences, debt, holding a different political or personal opinion from the ruling party, and other tramped charges which, end up in acquittals or nolle prosequi, for known public figures, while poor people rot in police cells or jails, waiting to go to court.

Sir, the Minister of Home Affairs banned unlawful road blocks, yet, our roads are filled with traffic police officers, swarming like a plague of locusts, stopping vehicles at will, at any make-shift check point, causing traffic jams and inconveniencing motorists.

What is more baffling is that while your traffic police officers spend a lot of time pursuing motorists, many of them own and drive defective vehicles, some with no number plates at all, in contravention of the same traffic laws that they enforce on others. This anomaly is very common among police officers who own and operate minibuses as a business.

It is a fact that our roads have more roadblocks than toll-gates, with higher penalty fees being collected at such road blocks, compared to the toll-fees collected at designated toll- gates, yet the police do not declare and deposit as much money as the National Road Fund Agency (NRFA), who are operating very few toll-gates.

One can easily conclude that your police officers are highly corrupt and that you are heading a corrupt police service. Unfortunately, you are not doing much to deal with this scourge of corruption in the police. You are turning a blind eye. If the police were honest and not corrupt, the police service would be collecting so much money that it would not have to depend on Government funding, given that there are too many roadblocks cashing-in on various traffic offenses with “instant” unreceipted fines.

Sir, while we observe that, there are some political players who are unruly and have an inclination towards creating conflict, we believe that you have exacerbated the political tension among political parties, especially the opposition and the ruling party, due to your biased and unlawful application of the Public Order Act (POA).

Sir, you and the majority of your Police Commissioners and senior officers, have conspicuously been politically biased in the way you have treated members of the opposition political parties, when they give you notices to hold public meetings. Further, members of the opposition, have been arbitrarily arrested, without proper investigations, over the matters reported against them by members of the ruling Patriotic Front.

A case in point is how you arrested Mr. Hakainde Hichilema, President of the United Party for National Development (UPND), his five co-accused, and many other people associated with the UPND leader, or, his party. Mr. Hakainde would not have been arrested in that brutal manner, causing damage to his property, if it was not for his political activities.

You personally, read out the charge of treason against Mr. Hichilema when you ought to have known that he committed no such crime. The case was not investigated and it showed high incompetence on your part, and that of your officers, though you denied responsibility in court. But, if it is not your incompetence as Inspector General of Police, then whose is it? To-date, we have not seen anyone punished for endangering the life our Republican President in Mongu, due to the incompetence of you and your officers in Western Province, on the material day.

We, therefore, insist that that mishap should be blamed squarely on you and you should resign on moral grounds, because endangering the life of a Republican President is a grave mistake by people who are supposed to protect him. It amounts to Treason. We are very concerned for the life of the President, owing to what happened in Mongu, especially that, no one has taken responsibility for that, you in particular, being the head of the police.

Sir, your bias against opposition members of political parties made you arrest Mr. Obvious Mwaliteta a UPND member and his colleagues, over a political misunderstanding during a highly emotive electoral period last year. You further, went on to “criminalize” your colleague, former Western Province Polilce Commissioner, Mr. Fanwell Siandenge, by putting him on a Wanted List and pegging a colossal reward of K300,000 for his capture.

The case of Mr. Mwaliteta has since been disposed-of by way of acquittal and the State has announced that they will not appeal, yet you have conveniently left the bounty on former Commissioner Siandenge open. We demand that, Commissioner Siandenge should be removed from the Wanted List, so that he can enjoy his freedoms and liberties.

It does not please us to see citizens living in fear of the police whom they pay, through their taxes, while you remain oblivious of the realities mentioned in this petition and many others.

Our police fail to solve serious crimes, where lives have been lost, including police officers lives, yet you waste time pursuing political opponents of the ruling party with vigour and gusto.

We suspect that it was at your request that the President declared a Threatened State of Emergency to give you more power to crackdown on saboteurs, but to-date, you have not given us substantive revelations of the suspects that you have arrested, when they will appear in court, etc., apart from labeling alleged crimes, like the Lusaka City Marker fire, as political, with no evidence to back your claims.

Sir, we would like you to give us evidence to back your earlier statement that the saboteurs are politically inclined other than quoting an excited politician who was making statements without thinking of who might use his statement against him.

Sir, we also wonder, why you seem to have special police officers whom you work with, overlooking other police officers on the ground. We wondered why, it had to take police from force headquarters to arrest Mr. Hichilema and other politically motivated cases when the incidence happened in Mongu where there are police officers as well.

This selection or discrimination among the police, encouraged by yourself, can cause demonization in the police. Zambians employ all police to serve them, not just a few preferred officers. If some police officers cannot do the job, it is better to relieve them, just like we are asking for your resignation, instead of keeping them to draw salaries and other benefits of the Police service.

Sir, though in court you denied responsibility of a number of issues happening in the police, we would like to remind you that, as the inspector general you bear responsibility of everything that happens in the Police. Therefore, we are holding you responsible for the unprofessionalism, incompetence and inefficiency currently going on in the our Police Service and we think you have failed, therefore, it would be good for you to step aside for another person who can do better.

We will continue talking about the issues we have raised herein, until we see change either in your office or service delivery by the Police.

Chilufya Tayali
PRESIDENT