The Lusaka Magistrate Court has convicted Lusaka Freelance Journalist Chanda Chimba over his role in the production of controversial television documentaries called Stand up for Zambia.

The Reporter who is now undergoing treatment for prostate cancer was found guilty for disposing property suspected to be proceeds of crime.

His co-accused former Information Minster Lieutenant General Ronnie Shikapwasha and former Information Permanent Secretary Sam Phiri have been acquitted on charges of abuse of authority of office.

Magistrate Obbyster Musukwa also established that the business trading name Phibajo Productions has been found to have been operating without any formal registration of the business at the National Archives.

He has also been convicted for disposing off property reasonably suspected to have been obtained from unlawful sources.
Mr. Chimba has since been remanded in custody and will be sentenced today.

Delivering the verdict yesterday afternoon, Magistrate Musukwa said the prosecution proved beyond reasonable doubt that Mr. Chimba’s firm had no capacity to pay for documentaries aired on public and private media outlets.

Magistrate Musukwa on the other hand ruled that the prosecution failed to prove that Gen. Shikapwasha and Mr. Phiri directed that ZNBC should air the Stand up for Zambia documentaries in 2010.

The trio was found with a case to answer in June 2016 on charges of abuse of authority, unlawful publication and possession of property suspected to be proceeds of crime.

Mr Chimba was producing a controversial TV Series called Stand up for Zambia which aired on ZNBC and was notorious for propaganda against then opposition leader Michael Sata.

The Permanent Secretary was accused of involving ZNBC in arbitrary decisions against the editorial policy and independence.

Background

In 2011

Patriotic Front (PF) leader Michael Sata sued the publisher of Stand Up for Zambia (SUFZ) News, Chanda Chimba III for allegedly publishing defamatory articles about him, including his sickness.

The late Micheal Sata claimed he had been seriously injured in his character, credit and reputation and was demanding damages and an injunction restraining Mr Chimba and his servant or agents from distributing, circulating or selling the said tabloid until determination of the matter.

He said Mr Chimba’s publication alleged that his sicknesses had led to fears that he might not lead the country longer due to his serious medical condition.

In a statement of claim filed in the Lusaka High Court, Mr Sata said the defamatory articles were under the headlines “Sata is a sick man”, “Close encounter with the Cobra” and “King Cobra spearheads homosexual campaigns”.

The first article stated that he was diagnosed with four threatening diseases in September 2009 after undergoing 22 different medical tests at a named clinic in Lusaka.

He said a tube was inserted to pump out some fluid around the heart as a consequence of his heavy smoking and that there were fears that even if he was elected as president, he would not lead the country for a long time because of the serious medical condition.

The second article stated that he would make a dangerous leader should Zambians make a mistake of voting him into office because he was exceedingly tribal and a reckless dictator.

It stated that Mr Sata lacked any qualification to be head of State and his understanding of issues was limited to attacks, insults and lies.

The third article indicated that his desperation for power had turned him into a pro-gay activist.

“Sata is desperate because the Orange Party in Taiwan which bankrolled his last three attempts at the presidency is out of power and is demanding back the money that they spent on him and the land and other things that he had promised.

“Following the loss of power of the Orange Party in Taiwan, Mr Sata has now turned to gay activists and countries that support homosexuality to fund his campaign so that in return he would enhance gay rights in Zambia.

Mr Sata said the articles in their natural and ordinary meaning were understood to mean that his health had considerably deteriorated, and that the Zambian electorate should not vote for the plaintiff in the forthcoming presidential election as he was unlikely to conclude his term of office due to poor health.

Mr Sata contended that although he had been evacuated to South Africa and treated at Milpark Hospital in Johannesburg, he was discharged after full recovery in the same month and even participated in the presidential elections as a candidate under PF. He had also engaged in vigorous countrywide campaigns as a testimony that he was in good health.

In 2013

ZNBC sued freelance journalist Chanda Chimba III demanding that he paid the Corporation more than K500, 000 for legal proceedings instituted against the national broadcaster for airing the “defamatory” Stand up for Zambia programme on his behalf.

2013

Chanda Chimba III faced two counts of unlawful printing and publication contrary to section 5 (1) of chapter 161 of the laws of Zambia.

Particulars of the offences were that between June 9 and July 28, 2011 and August 25 and September 26, 2011 respectively, Chanda Chimba III unlawfully did cause to be printed or published a newspaper “Stand up for Zambia” which was not registered at the office of the Director of National Achieves of Zambia.

It wass further alleged that Chanda Chimba III unlawfully did cause to be printed or published a newspaper “News of our Times” which was not registered at the office of the Director of National Achieves of Zambia.

In the last count, Chanda Chimba III wass charged with an offence of possession of property suspected to be proceeds of a crime contrary to section 71 of the Forfeiture of Proceeds and Crime Act No. 19 of 2010 of the Laws of Zambia.

It was alleged that on dates unknown but between June 9 and September 16, 2011, while in Lusaka Chanda Chimba III did have in possession or control an accumulated total of K611,440,433.12 money he paid for his private media and printing services to ZNBC, Muvi television and Zambia Daily Mail Limited respectively, money which was reasonably suspected to be proceeds of crime.

The Lusaka High Court has dismissed a petition by losing UPND Chongwe Constituency candidate Sylvia Masebo.

Judge Getrude Chawatama ruled that PF candidate Japhen Mwakalombe had convincingly won the constituency elections held on 11th August 2016.

Judge Chawatama dismissed the application by Ms. Masebo and ruled that Mwakalombe was duly elected as Member of Parliament for Chongwe Constituency.

Ms. Masebo sued Mr Mwakalombe claiming that the election of the Chongwe MP was marred with electoral irregularities.

She petitioned that Mr Mwakalombe engaged in malicious propaganda, intimidation, and illegal practices against her.

Ms. Masebo also claimed that her monitors were not given copies of the Gen 12 and that alleged ghost voters were allowed to vote.

Her key ground for petitioning the election results was also that Mr Mwakalombe’s supporters called her Belinda Nafwa after a famous Zambian song.

Belinda is a fictional character in artist Chester’s song, that depicts a careless man that left his wife for Belinda.
Belinda then suddenly died and apparently the man only became aware that she was on HIV/AIDS treatment.

Ms. Masebo argued that that the reference to her as Belinda Nafwa tarnished her image as a good citizen of Chongwe.

But Judge Chawatama dismissed the application declaring Mwakalombe as duly elected as Member of Parliament for Chongwe.

First National Secretary of the Movement for Multiparty Democracy MMD Ambassador Akashambatwa Mbikusita Lewanika says the party has diverted from the principles that led to its formation in 1990 as some leaders have turned a national agenda into a pocket agenda.

And MMD Vice President for Politics Mutolo Phiri said the party had decided to turn to their founding fathers to try and revive the party and go back to its original agenda of delivering development to the country with the participation of citizens through democracy.

Speaking at a capacity building workshop held for MMD National Executive Committee members and other party officials from all the 10 provinces in Kabwe Central Province on Saturday Ambassador Lewanika said the MMD was not formed to deliver the presidency to an individual but to foster National Development to a democratic society.

He said as a founding member of the Movement, his heart bleeds when he looks at what is happening in the former ruling party.

[pullquote]MMD is the only party apart from UNIP which fought for a genuine cause[/pullquote]

He was however quick to mention that with a new vigor that he has noticed in the party and the membership’s zeal to revive it, the MMD will not go into oblivion and that it is important for the party to remain the hope for the country.

He explained that the MMD is the only party which has a national identity and has embraced all tribes in the country.

He bemoaned the direction the party was taken to in the last few years which he said was not the aspirations of the founding fathers of the party whom he said put the interests of the country before theirs.

“When we formed MMD our goal was to develop the country with the participation of all. We were tired of being led by an individual who thought he had the monopoly of wisdom. Even the slogan which we have been using is a lie, the slogan was “One Zambia, One Nation, One Nation, One Leader, that Kenneth Kaunda No Change”. We formed a movement and it’s purpose was not to deliver the presidency to an individual but to deliver development through democracy were people were free to participate by criticising or demanding without being intimidated by those with the mandate to run the country. Even when you look at how we chose our president as MMD it was after recognizing that the skills in Dr Chiluba, I could have been the President myself after all am among the first few individuals who formed the party.

“Over time we as the founding fathers of the MMD we have noticed that the party has lost its agenda as some people have turned a national agenda into a pocket agenda were they are even fighting the will of the members. MMD does not belong to an individual, it belongs to Zambians and it is the hope for the people in this country. It is the only party apart from UNIP which fought for a genuine cause which some people seem not to understand. MMD will surely go back to power because it has a record. Zambians can identify themselves with the party but there is need for the leadership to restrategize and ensure that it starts mobilizing from the grass roots, the structures are already, all you need to do is wake them up,” he said.

He also said it was not in the DNA of MMD for leaders to be fighting saying only intruders are capable of doing so as the party members know how the party chooses it’s leaders and it is not through the courts.

Meanwhile MMD Vice President for Politics Mutolo Phiri said the MMD leadership had gone to its founding fathers to try and draw lessons and knowledge from the people with the original agenda of the party.

He said there is need to ensure that the party remains relevant to the political dispensation of the country and contribute to the development of the country even when it is in opposition.

He noted that the forefathers of the party would help reinvigorate the membership across the country that it would help young members to understand the party as well as ensure that it reminds old members of why the party was formed.

He also said losing power in 2011 has led to mass exodus of members to join other political parties hence the need to have the old timers help to recall them by reminding them that though the party diverted from its original cause it is still the party of choice in the country because of its National identity.

Other invited to the workshop were founder member Dr Donald Chanda, who said all the projects that people want to claim to be theirs were MMD programs which were systematically being implemented before it was kicked out of office.

Dr Chanda who worked at State House as one of the economic advisors to Dr Chiluba has since pledged to help the party with any research related to how the party will revive itself.

Also in attendance was former private secretary to late President Dr Levy Mwanawasa Alfred Chipoya who gave a lecture on the roles of the President and that of the National Secretary.

Former National Secretary and seasoned diplomat Ambassador Dr. Vernon Mwaanga though not in attendance was equally instrumental to the workshop as he wrote the Concept Note Paper for the workshop.

Among the invited founding members who failed to make it to the capacity building workshop due to personal commitments over the weekend include Dr Katele Kalumba, Teddy Mulonga, longest serving Party National Treasurer Mr Suresh Desai and many other founding members.

The MMD was over the weekend tilted to very serious business as after the capacity building workshop, the National Executive Committee held its first ever full NEC meeting after its May 20th Convention with all its provincial heads present.

State House has accused the Judiciary of colluding with the opposition UPND and trying to usurp the sovereign will of the people to elect their own leaders.

State House Special Assistant for Press and Public Relations Amos Chanda has since issued a stern warning against the Judges saying they should not act like politicians.

In a wide ranging Sunday Interview on ZNBC TV aired last evening, Mr Chanda said the behaviour of some Judges especially over the handling of election petitions has caused some comfort in the Patriotic Front.

“Yes there is some discomfort in the party, remember I speak for the presidency and the President is the Head of the Party and I can say here that there is discomfort over the conduct of the Judiciary,” Mr Chanda said.

He said the judiciary must not push the Executive to push for judicial reforms like the ones in Kenya.

[pullquote]

The Judiciary must not push the Executive

[/pullquote]“The Judiciary must not be like politicians. The Judiciary must not push the Executive to push judicial reforms the Kenya style. Judges are members of society, they are not in Jupiter, their actions must be in tune with society, they should not create doubts. There is discomfort in the party about what some judges say to members of the opposition and when we see their outcomes, it creates discomfort but not fear,” he said.

Mr Chanda said “Let’s not have the judiciary that puts itself on trial.”

Mr Chanda said the PF will still win the by elections even if they are called in Lusaka Central and Munali constituencies.

“No elections are won in the courts of law. The judiciary is usurping the sovereign will of the people. For instance, Hon Mwanakatwe’s husband was threatened with a pistol during campaigns and how can a Judge turn that against Hon Mwanakwatwe. This is the absurdity we are talking about. This is the collusion we are talking about. We are beginning to see strange things in the judiciary,” Mr Chanda said.

He said the courts must stay away from putting themselves in the political arena.

“The party will not sit idle and watch this continue,” he warned.

Mr Chanda also dismissed reports that the opposition UPND has applied to the International Criminal Court over the handling of the election petition.

“We have searched everywhere, there is no petition in the ICC to do with Zambia. What the UPND is doing is psyching the minds of Zambians that President Lungu will be removed from office one day.

It’s in the interest of the judiciary that they don’t put themselves on trial. How do you explain a Court official acting in a partisan manner by admitting 70 percent of cadres from the UPND and denying enough seats to the PF? It will only take a phone call to the Provincial Chairman in Lusaka and there will be no space in the entire court building because the PF is by far the most popular in Lusaka,” he said.

On presidential trips, Mr Chanda denied accusations that President Lungu has been travelling a lot.
He revealed that President Lungu has turned down some invitations in the spirit of austerity measures that his administration is implementing.

“He is not travelling too much, we have cancelled some trips. All the trips he has undertaken since re-election have been in very important,” Mr Chanda said.

He also disclosed that President Lungu is the only leader who moves with one of the smallest delegations.

“He has done about five trips in a month but he travels with the smallest number in his entourage, sometimes only about seven people comprising, security, doctors and protocol. The number of people travelling with the President has reduced from an average of 80 people to an average of between 20-22. When I look at the records, that the President has cut the numbers and all these trips are budgeted for and he is not travelling over budget. He is even travelling below budget.”
Mr Chanda said Presidential summits are important for Zambia’s international relations.

“Summitry is still important and that is why the EU leaders are meeting all the time. That is how governments function. There are certain things that cannot just be discussed over the phone.”

FIDEL
1926 – 2016

The end of an era.
I will say what I want.
And you won’t stop me. I suffer poorly nitwits of your kind. But you still remain of value to me.
…never in the history of the last one hundred years of human life on Earth, other than the British Empire, has a single man had so much impact on the world.
What the Soviet Union, his then supporter, failed to achieve, Fidel Castro, achieved it in Cuba.
The man did it.

Fidel was greatness revealed; human will become manifest, uniqueness refusing to bow and lived, in full display like the brilliant plume of a peacock.
Cuba is a special country.
There is no country like it.
Some of its human development indicators are better than in the West.

…Cuba has touched/supported many ‘non-aligned States’ more than any other country of its stature in the world.
…Cuba has trained teachers.
…Cuba has trained engineers.
…Cuba has trained agronomists.
…Cuba has trained military strategists.
…Cuba has trained medical doctors.
Fidel was a friend of the poor.
Fidel was a friend of liberty.
There is no ‘poor country’ in the world that has given aid to other poor countries over the years more than Cuba […China is the other].
Please do not misunderstand me.
I am not a communist.
I am just Fidel’s friend.
Just a mourner.
…who happens to be a student of history.
…Black and white live as one in Cuba.
…Yes, Cubans may not have the Internet but they have life; their life expectancy is better than that of some Western nations including America.
Yes, Cubans live longer than Americans; yeah, so much for not having the Internet.
Fidel was our friend.
He was much bigger than himself.
He was an institution.
…there is no country of its kind that has been visited by the Pope, the most powerful institution in the world, other than Cuba.
Fidel’s spirit of brotherhood is immortal.
It will never die.
And the good thing with the past is that it cannot be changed.
Many will try to re-tell the life of Fidel, belittle and disparage it/him now that he is dead but they will fail. The world has been a captive witness to it all.
…we all know the truth he represents.
Hate him or not, Fidel touched the lives of millions.
Our own former Republican President His Excellency Dr Frederick CHILUBA named his own beloved son after him. Many others did.
Fidel inspired many.
He inspired the inspirers.
Fidel shaped the course of the world.
…He gave us another view of life – a life that treats all human beings as equal.
What Fidel saw is what became.
His vision is what is today’s Cuba.
Visionary. Revolutionary. Leader. Pilgrim.
You see Pilgrim, there are people or entities on Earth that just cannot be harmed until their purpose is done, until their appointed hour of closure comes.
Fidel was one such man.
Witnessing the passing of Fidel is akin to observing the end of an order, the departure of a gigantic actor from the stage of life; a reminder of what awaits all, that, even for gods, the time eventually comes to go.
Fidel lived a full life.
His death was NOT untimely.
Learn from it, Pilgrim.
…and that his life was different from yours does not make yours superior to his.
In the end, Fidel was just a man, warts and all.
Fidel is just an example that there are many different ways to live; and that then, even without Coca Cola and KFC, we can all win Gold medals, we can all have healthcare, we can all have family, and we can then all die at 90.
Fidel displayed that it is possible to be ‘poor’ and yet be successful. His existence will remain a living challenge to the Western definition of poverty.
He showed the world that, even without television or a personal motor car, life is still possible; that one man can still touch another.
…Cuba gave the world the finest sportsmen and women.
…Cuba gave the world doctors.
…Cuba gave the world education.
…Cuba gave the world longevity.
Cuba embraced all.
Cuba is an example of what true sovereignty means. Being oneself.
…right in the heart of the Western hemisphere a communist country was created; and thrived.
Such a feat is worthy of careful scholarly study, and has never been achieved by anyone, ever before.
Even America salutes Fidel. It has no option.
Not because of the Bay of Pigs, but because Fidel and Cuba remain a salient and astonishing visible lesson of human existence.
That those that he successfully defied when he was alive should claim victory today because of his death is evidence that they are only filled with folly of a gargantuan kind. It is schadenfreude. We must understand them as such.
And they are many.
Nothing will diminish Fidel. Nothing.
He leaves a successful man.
It is finished.
Farewell, comrade. Farewell, Commandant.
…your journey has ended, Pilgrim. Ours continues…thank you for the baton!
Adios amigo!
…you go. But then you stay…
Fidel.
Finished.
…human after all!

By Dr.Canisius Banda

Macky 2 released the video for his latest single “Forgive Them”.

BY KAPA187

President Edgar Lungu’s Spokesperson Amos Chanda has expressed concern at the fact that opposition leader Hakainde Hichilema rejoices in evil.

And Mr Chanda says President Edgar Lungu has ensured that there is no wastage of resources at cabinet and the entire government system especially during trips.

Speaking when he featured on ZNBC’s Sunday interview last evening, Special Assistant to the President for Press and Public Relations Amos Chanda said it was not only shocking but disheartening to see opposition leader Hakainde Hichilema celebrate the power outage that was experienced in five provinces of Zambia after a lightening strike.

Mr Chanda said it was very peculiar to see someone (Hichilema) celebrate a national crisis.

“How is it our fault that lightening struck, but to see HH celebrating, we begin to wonder, maybe it was sabotage and if it was sabotage, does he command lightening… will he blame people for associating him with dark forces,” Mr Chanda queried.

He said instead of jubilating at the National calamity that affected half of the country he would have expected a leader to be more empathetic and even help find a solution.

And Mr Chanda, who announced that President Lungu was one of the only African presidents who travelled with a very small delegation, was quick to mention that all trips carried out by the President so far were for economic benefit.

Mr Chanda said President Lungu usually travelled with a maximum of upto 21 delegates as opposed to the usual 80 delegates.

He said the Head of State usually personally looked into the delegation list, and said that since President Lungu ascended to power, he had cancelled party officials on tours.

Highlighting some of the Presidential trips which he said have built stronger international relations ties, Mr Chanda announced that Zambia would have a revamped Agro business from Saudi Arabia, revamped TAZARA and TAZAMA.

He added that the better relations with China would facilitate the construction of a spill-over city in Kafue as well a aid the country in form of climate change adaptation.

Mr Chanda emphasised that the Presidential tours were within budget and would stick within budget.

On the issues of nullification of parliamentary candidates, Presidential Spokesperson announced that there was some discomfort by the Head of State but he would let the arms of government operate independently.

However, he did note that the judiciary needed not operate like they are in a political arena.

He hoped that there was no politics involved in the system and was quick to note that the PF would retain any seat that is nullified if it came down to polls.