Chief Government spokesperson Kennedy Sakeni has refuted assertions that President Michael Sata has fallen ill. Mr. Sakeni who is also Information and Broadcasting Minister said that the fact that the president has delegated the Vice President Guy Scott to officiate at national important events such as Youth and the Women Days does not mean that the president is sick.

Mr. Sakeni disclosed this to Qfm in an interview that President Sata is in good health and has been meeting his Cabinet Minister at State House almost on a daily basis.

Meanwhile, Vice President Guy Scott has arrived in New Delhi, India to represent Zambia at the The 8th CII-EXIM Bank Conclave on India Africa Project Partnership. The Vice President arrived at 19:40 hours local time at the Indira Gandhi International Airport.

Accompanying the Vice President is Dr Charlotte Scott, the second lady.

Others in the delegation include Minister of Agriculture and Livestock Emmanuel Chenda, Minister of Transport, Works, Supply and Communication Christopher Yaluma and some Senior Government officials.

According to the programme released by the Zambian mission in India, Dr Scott is expected to pay a courtesy call on India’s Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh.

Further, the Vice President during the official opening of the 9th CII –EXIM BANK Conclave on India-Africa Project Partnership will deliver an address in plenary.

The Vice President will also address and chair special sessions, to be held on, Zambia and India –Africa Infrastructure Partnership, respectively.

Dr Scott will also tour Angelique International Limited to discuss Rural Electrification and Agriculture projects in Zambia.

And in Udaipur, the Vice President will tour the World’s biggest Zinc Mine, which is owned by Vendatta, with an objective to look into modern mechanisation, technology, productivity and automation.

The tour will be with a view to exploring the possibility of boosting mining development in Zambia.

A visit to the International Technology Park in Pune is another engagement for the Vice President.

His visit to Pune is intended to explore the prospects of setting up an IT Park facility in the economic zone in Lusaka South, which will give drive to economic development in the service sector.

The Vice President will then travel by road from Pune to Mumbai where he is expected to experience the infrastructure and road network.

While in Mumbai, he will address the Mumbai Chambers of Commerce and Industry.

The 8th CII-EXIM Bank Conclave on India Africa Project Partnership was held in India last year under the theme, ‘Creating Possibilities: Delivering Value.’

According to the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII)’s website, business results from its last held eight conclaves recorded significant achievements with 1510 projects worth USD 104 billion to have been deliberated.

CII with the support of the Ministry of External Affairs, Ministry of Commerce and Industry, and the Government of India are organising the said event.

The gathering offers an opportunity for participating countries to showcase their work to large numbers of decision makers from Africa.

More than 30 African countries of business leaders and officials will be in attendance.

Vice President Dr Guy Scott will represent Zambia at this year’s conclave.

Former Rupiah Bwezani Banda, has said that he wishes to thank all Zambians for the solidarity shown to him during the period leading to and after the lifting of his immunity.

The former Zambian head of State, whose immunity was lifted by 80 of the Zambian Parliament’s 159 members on Friday evening, says he is deeply touched by the support that has come his way since the debate over the subject began.

“I watched the immunity debate on television in the company of my family and young colleagues. I could not help but admire and pricelessly appreciate the manner in which the opposition members of Parliament debated. I also received numerous phone calls of solidarity. I can give back nothing but my gratitude for the gesture,” President Banda says.

President Banda has further appealed to all Zambians to remain calm and show love towards one another. He adds that while he has the strength to withstand his new status, he wishes to remind all Zambians to equally have the strength to exercise self-restraint at all times and remember that Zambia is more precious than any individual interests.

Opposition Movement for Multi-Party Democracy (MMD) president Nevers Mumba has described as shameful and retrogressive the move by the ruling Patriotic Front (PF) to have former republican President Rupiah Banda’s immunity removed.

Dr. Mumba said that the removal of Mr. Banda’s immunity has been done in disregard of the nation’s viewpoint as people in the country did not ask for such an action to take place.

Dr. Mumba has told Qfm in an interview that the removal of the immunity of the former president is only political retribution and not the fight against corruption.

He observed that it is cheap politics for the ruling PF to pass a motion of removal of immunity of the former head of state when Members of Parliament from the opposition had left the House in protest against such a motion.

Meanwhile, Chief Government Spokesperson Kennedy Sakeni has said that International Lawyer Robert Amsterdam is welcome to enter Zambia to defend his client the former president Rupiah Banda in court only if he meets the country’s immigration qualifications.

This follows Mr. Amsterdam’s affirmation on Friday that he will be ready to defend the former republic president in Zambian courts for any corruption allegations leveled against Mr. Banda if the Zambian government will be courageous enough to allow him enter the country.

Mr. Sakeni has told Qfm in an interview that if Mr. Amsterdam is to operate in Zambia as a lawyer, he also needs to be registered to practice in the country.

QFM

Speaker of the National Assembly Patrick Matibini yesterday said Parliament is an autonomous institution which has unique freedom to debate and deal with own internal matters independently.

Dr Matibini said under the separation of powers, Parliament is given freedom to debate matters and does not get orders from any institutions hence the House was free to observe its own rules and procedures.

This was in his ruling to a point of order raised by UPND Monze Member of Parliament (MP) Jack Mwiimbu regarding the removal of legal immunity of former President Rupiah Banda.

This was shortly after Clerk of the National Assembly Doris Mwinga read the order of the day in which Justice Minister Wynter Kabimba was to present to the House the motion of removing legal immunity of Mr Banda.

But Mr Mwiimbu, asked Dr Matibini for guidance because the motion at hand was a subject of a court injunction which was served to the Clerk of the National Assembly on Thursday afternoon.

He said on various foras, Dr Matibini categorically stated that no matter before the Courts of Law should be discussed in Parliament.

“The Office of the Speaker said once a matter is in court, your hands are tied and can’t do anything until such matter is resolved in court.

“When the matter is before High or Supreme Court, we shouldn’t discuss it,” Mr Mwiimbu said.

He said the motion to remove Mr Banda’s immunity was taken to court and wondered what powers MPs had to debate over the motion.

“The motion being discussed is a subject of litigation and we feel we shall not be in a position to debate the matter since it’s before the court,” he said.

He argued that members found it hard to debate on the motion before the courts.

But Dr Matibini explained that Parliament was an independent institution and does not get orders from any other institution hence was free to observe its own rules and procedures.

He said the court documents served to the Clerk of National Assembly could not apply to the House because it currently enjoyed freedom to determine its own matters in the spirit of separation of powers through its Standing Orders.

Dr Matibini said Parliament had its own internal proceedings which were not amenable to any court of law and it was at this point that he called upon Mr Kabimba to move the motion.

At this point, several opposition MPs raised on points of order wanting to get more clarifications from Dr Matibini arguing that they could not debate the matter before the court and that the motion should have been brought to the House by the Head of State.

After a lengthy argument, Dr Matibini suspended the House for 15 minutes for consultations but the period clocked over an hour and when he came back, he told the members that his position was that the motion should be tabled in view of his earlier explanation.

He said a number of opposition MPs who have been expelled from their parties were currently still in the House because he had guided that the matters could only be determined after the courts had discharged them.

MMD Chembe MP Mwansa Mbulakulima and his Nalikwanda counterpart Geoffrey Lungwangwa disputed Dr Matibini’s ruling in their points of order.

MMD Sinda MP Levy Ngoma said the members had been abused by the Office of the Speaker and after that they all walked out of the House.

After continually pressing for further explanations from Dr Matibini, the MPs around 17:07 hours walked out of the House leaving almost all their seats empty to the surprise of their PF counterparts.

They assembled within the main passage of the House and held a caucus meeting.

Security officers from the National Assembly also sealed off all doors and could not allow anybody to walk out of the premises.

A heavy presence of armed police officers in full riot gear also came to Parliament gates as some of Mr Banda’s sympathisers attempted to break the National Assembly gate.

Earlier, UPND Kalomo MP Request Muntanga rose on a point of order on why there was a heavy presence of paramilitary which he said were intimidating the law makers.

In his ruling, Dr Matibini said the measures were constituted because of reports that some cadres had wanted to come to Parliament to create confusion in view of Mr Banda’s immunity motion.

“Obstruction is not the best thing we should do and I think I am being very diplomatic and this is an august House and we need to respect the dignity of this House,” The Speaker said in reference to opposition MPs who kept on raising obstructing ZNBC cameras.

Dr Matibini later allowed Mr Kabimba to move the motion in the House and later when the motion went to a vote, opposition MPs who were recently appointed to ministerial positions voted with the ruling party for the motion.

Parliament has today removed former President Rupiah Banda’s immunity from prosecution because of alleged corrupt activities and misappropriation of public funds. The motion passed with 80 for Yes, 3 for No while 4 were absentees.

Presenting the motion Justice Minister Wynter Kabimba said Mr Banda during his tenure, abused the authority of office, and corruptly acquired public property and misappropriated funds or revenue in respect of crude oil contracts with a Nigerian Petroleum Corporation.

Mr Kabimba said on December 21, 2011, the Government Joint Investigations Team (GJIT) conducted a search on the property of former Energy Minister Kenneth Konga in Lusaka in which the team came into a possession a letter dated November 25, 2008, which letter was personally signed by Mr Banda requesting for supply of 45, 000 barrels per day of Term Crude Oil from the Nigerian firm.

“The GJIT has established that the Zambian government paid the sum of US$2.5 million to the Nigerian company for the said crude oil facility through the Zambian government’s Nigerian Procurement Agent called Sarb Energy Ltd.

“The team also established that Henry Banda, son to Mr Rupiah Banda, was involved in the oil deal with the sole responsibility of deciding where the Nigerian firm assigned to uplift the crude would remit the proceeds for the transaction. Mr Henry Banda opened an off-shore account with Barclays Bank in Singapore into which the proceeds were remitted on behalf of his father,” Mr Kabimba said.

“The diversion of the proceeds Mr Speaker constitutes abuse of authority of office, fraud and misappropriation of public funds on Mr Rupiah Banda’s part for which he must be prosecuted by the GJIT,” He said.

According to Mr Kabimba, further investigations revealed that Mr Rupiah Banda and his family in 2011 spent more than K20 billion on the purchase of election campaign materials and this sum was personally handled and disbursed in cash by Mr Banda and his sons.

He told the House that Mr Banda disbursed the funds through his Senior Private Secretary and the MMD Campaign Centre Manager and that he also disbursed the sum of K60 million paid in three installments to each parliamentary candidate in all the 150 constituencies.

Mr Kabimba said Mr Banda also disbursed K2 million to each local government candidate for the total of 1, 400 wards.

“The GJIT has now established that K21, 907, 847, 170 cash was personally disbursed by Mr Rupiah Banda and his family and that the MMD never had such sums of money in its bank account at any time. During the period, Mr Banda purchased bicycle spares and accessories from Atlas Cycles and printed fabrics from in India at declared value of K371, 908, 000 with duty at K81, 076, 292 while 42 Toyota Hilux Vigo from Western, a United Arab based firm with valued at K1, 869, 840, 000 and K892, 434, 129 as duty.

Similarly, materials including branded candy lollypops, 40 used Bedford Trucks, branded T-shirts, caps, badges, hats, balloons, hand flags and flags were bought from various suppliers in the Emirates, United Kingdom and China.

Others were bought from Japan, Malawi and South Africa that included 77 used light trucks, 2, 407 bales of printed fabric, T-shirts, badges and hats, balloons and various motor vehicle types all valued at K10, 107, 847, 170.

Mr Kabimba said “Mr Banda’s personal handling of such large sums of moneys and his activities constitute acts of money laundering and, or the presumption that the funds in question came from the national treasury as public funds for which he is liable to prosecution.”

He said Mr Banda and his family prepared their own loan agreements to procure a loan of $1, 000, 000 from Hands Industries, a firm listed in Dubai as a dealer in clothing and not a financier, for Mpundu Trust.

The GJIT established Nyiombo Investments procured the said unsecured loan for Mpundu Trust, whose directors were Thandiwe Chilongo Banda, spouse to Mr Banda and two other people who in February 2012, resigned and Mr Bnda also became a director.

The Justice Minister said without any reasonable explanation from Mr Banda, the presumption that the said loan constitutes gratification under the ACC Act was inevitable, hence an offence for prosecution.

Other offences brought to the House included money laundering activities such as the acquisition of a $200, 000 Higer Bus, branded bulbs worth $60, 000, importation of shoes worth $300, 000 from Mauritius and importation of 38 trucks from the UK worth GP100, 000.

“In view of the foregoing, I submit that this House should resolve that criminal proceedings against former President Rupiah Banda would not be contrary to the interests of the State whatsoever and the GJIT must proceed to prosecute Mr Banda,” he said.