Chief Government Spokesperson Kennedy Sakeni has refuted assertions that the ruling Patriotic Front would consider revoking the passports of leaders of the MMD, UPND, ULP and ZDDM following their recent trip South Africa were they petitioned the Commonwealth to suspend Zambia’s membership for alleged human rights abuses.

Chief Government Spokesperson Kennedy Sakeni has refuted assertions that the ruling Patriotic Front would consider revoking the passports of leaders of the MMD, UPND, ULP and ZDDM following their recent trip South Africa were they petitioned the Commonwealth to suspend Zambia’s membership for alleged human rights abuses.

Mr. Sakeni has told Qfm in a telephone interview that such assertions are unfounded as it is not the desire of the PF government to suppress citizens by revoking their passports.

Mr. Sakeni who is also Information and Broadcasting Services Minister says the PF government has not made any such decision regarding the alleged revocation of passports of the four opposition leaders.

During their press conference in Johannesburg Dr. Nervous Mumba, Mr. Hakainde Hichilema, Mr. Sakwiba Sikota and Mr. Edwin Sakala suggested that Zambia be suspended from the commonwealth pending the outcome of an independent investigation of the country’s human rights record by an appointed envoy.

Meanwhile, the Zambia Center for Inter-Party Dialogue- ZCID- has described as pre-mature the decision by some opposition political parties in the country to seek the suspension of Zambia from the Commonwealth for alleged infringement of human rights.

The Zambia Center for Inter-Party Dialogue- ZCID- has described as pre-mature the decision by some opposition political parties in the country to seek the suspension of Zambia from the Commonwealth for alleged infringement of human rights.

ZCID Executive Director Horrance Chilando has observed that the decision taken by the MMD, UPND, ULP and ZDDM leaders was rushed as all forms of expressing their grievance on Zambia’s standing on the tolerance of human rights was not sufficiently exhausted.

Mr. Chilando has told Qfm in an interview that such rushed decisions as seeking interventions from the international community to deal with national matters may have serious consequences on the country’s ability to attract investment.

He has since urged the ruling Patriotic Front to take the initiate of calling for a national indaba to address the grievances of the opposition political parties.

MMD leader Nevers Mumba has denied accusations by President Michael Sata that he seeking criminal asylum in South Africa.

Addressing a media briefing at his residence in Kabulonga in Lusaka, Dr. Mumba said the accusations that he was in South Africa to ask for criminal asylum are false.

Dr. Mumba said the opposition leaders that travelled to South Africa have no intentions of leaving Zambia because they have nothing to run away from.

“We are not running away and if there is anything that President Sata wants to do to me and my colleagues in the opposition he will have to do it right here in Zambia,” Dr. Mumba stated.

The MMD President explained that the South Africa meeting was meant to facilitate a legal meeting with their lawyer.

“We didn’t go to South Africa to have a political meeting, we went there to meet our international lawyer and as you aware our lawyer Mr. Robert Amsterdam is not allowed to enter Zambia so we had to meet in a neutral environment to discuss our legal options.”

“In today’s technological age, the issue of having a meeting outside the country does not arise. What happens in Zambia attracts the interest of the international community in real time. So where you hold the meeting does not really matter,” Dr. Mumba said.

He also dismissed assertions by Chief Government Spokesman Kennedy Sakeni that former President Rupiah Banda attended and organised the South Africa press conference.

“I feel pity for my brother Sakeni because he is being forced to release statements that he has not written,” he said.

[pullquote]“I feel pity for my brother Sakeni because he is being forced to release statements that he has not written,” he said.[/pullquote]

And Dr. Mumba says the opposition leaders are determined to continue alerting the international community to the growing human rights abuses taking place in Zambia.

Dr. Mumba revealed that the opposition leaders will soon engage the African Union and the SADC Secretariat to present a dossier of documented human rights abuses under the PF administration.

“The document we gave the Commonwealth is about 40 pages, we will document further abuses in the next dossier we will give to the AU may be 60 pages and the SADC one might around 80 pages long.”
Dr. Mumba also appealed to President Sata to desist from telling lies.

He said President Sata has developed a bad habit of telling him on his political opponents.

[pullquote]“When people are hiding you don’t know what they went for to South Africa because the person is looking for asylum but he does not know we can go to South Africa and get him extradited and come remove his immunity here,” Mr Sata said.[/pullquote]
Dr. Mumba reminded President Sata that he is now occupying a holy office at State House which requires that he tells the truth all the time.

“This government should slow down. This knee jerk reaction to any challenge from the opposition will not help the PF government.”

Earlier today President Michael Sata claimed that the South African government was not ready to give criminal asylum to former President Rupiah Banda.

President Sata explained that Mr Banda did not know that the government can have him extradited from South Africa to Zambia so that his immunity is removed.

The Head of State charged that MMD president, Nevers Mumba, his UPND counterpart, Hakainde Hichielma and Mr Banda were looking for criminal asylum in South Africa.

Mr Sata stated that out of the three opposition leaders who held a media briefing in South Africa, only United Liberal Party (ULP) leader Sakwiba Sikota was the clean.

[pullquote]“So the only person who was clean out of all those was Bo Saki. Nevers Mumba and HH were looking for criminal asylum and the South African President is not ready to give Rupiah Banda, HH and Nevers Mumba asylum.[/pullquote]

Mr Sata called on the opposition political leaders to return home and exonerate themselves.

“When people are hiding you don’t know what they went for to South Africa because the person is looking for asylum but he does not know we can go to South Africa and get him extradited and come remove his immunity here,” Mr Sata said.

“So the only person who was clean out of all those was Bo Saki. Nevers Mumba and HH were looking for criminal asylum and the South African President is not ready to give Rupiah Banda, HH and Nevers Mumba asylum. They should come here and sing the song here in Zambia,” Mr Sata stated.

North Western Province Minister and Mufumbwe Member of Parliament (MP), Steven Masumba, has been found with a case to answer in a matter where he is accused of obtaining pecuniary advantage through false pretences by a Lusaka Magistrates’ court.

Magistrate, Wilfred Muma, who has since put Mr Masumba on his defence said he considered the evidence brought before the court by the prosecution team and was satisfied that the state had established a prima facie case against Mr Masumba.

However, Mr Masumba’s lawyer, Mutakela Lisimba, asked the court to grant the accused person at least a one month adjournment so that the defence could have enough time to prepare.

As the state prosecution team from the Anti Corruption Commission (ACC) could not ague any more, Magistrate Muma later set March 11, 2013, for the commencement of defence in the matter.

This is in a matter where Mr Masumba, 31, of NAPSA Housing Units, Ibex Hill, is charged with one count of obtaining pecuniary advantage by false pretences contrary to Section 309 A (2) c of the Penal Code as read together with Section 41 of the Anti Corruption Commission (ACC) Act number 42 of 1996.

It is alleged that Mr Masumba on dates unknown, but between December 2005 and August 2008 in Lusaka did dishonestly obtain employment for himself as an Accounting Clerk at the Lusaka Business Technical College (LBTC) by falsely pretending that he held qualifications of Accounting Technician when in fact not.

Earlier magistrate Muma told the Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) which is prosecuting Masumba to put its house in order saying there was gross disorder at the Commission.

“Why do you come late for your cases?” asked Mr Muma.

But State prosecutor Macqueen Zaza told Magistrate Muma that the ACC prosecutor who was prosecuting the matter was indisposed and that he was there to represent him.

Magistrate Muma then directed Mr Zaza to convey the message to his colleague that “you are perceived that you are not in order at all.”

ZANIS