OVER 100 hectares of maize and vegetable fields have been destroyed by Sulphur Dioxide emitted from Chambeshi Copper Smelter along the Kitwe-Chingola roads on the Copperbelt.

The affected crops include beans, groundnuts, maize in early stage, sweet potatoes and pumpkin plants among others.

The crops have dried beyond redemption to the dismay of the farmers who have been left with no food especially relish as they depend on the affected vegetables.

And the affected farmers have appealed to government to strictly compel the Chinese owned Copper Smelter to compensate them for their expense on the destroyed crops.

The farmers also appealed on government to compel the company to curb the emission of Sulphur Dioxide, which is locally called as ‘ Senta’ by the local community , so that farmers around the Copper Smelting Company can still continue with their agriculture activities.

And Brian Bwalya, one of the affected farmers said the investment that has been made by Chambeshi Copper Smelter in the area will not be useful if it will destroy agriculture which is the main livelihood of the people in the area.

Mr. Bwalya also complained that the Sulphur dioxide being emitted was a health hazard to the people especially the children.

He further observed that the company was not employing people from the area but was instead recruiting people from outside the district.

But when contacted for a comment, Chambeshi Copper Smelter manager for Environment, safety and Health Department Robison Mubita said the company was aware of the damage to the crop but was still assessing it to determine whether the damage was caused by Sulphur Dioxide or the poor soil.

ZANIS

The Commuters’ Rights Association of Zambia has called on the Road Transport and Safety Agency (RTSA) to ensure there is sanity on the Zambian roads.

Commuters Rights Association of Zambia President Aaron Kamuti stated that it is cardinal that the RTSA continue being effective in maintaining order on the roads across the country.

ZANIS reports that Mr. Kamuti observed in an interview in Lusaka, today, with that he expects absolute change in behaviour from both the motorists and the Law Enforcement Agencies responsible.

He further implored commuters of public busses to report cases of abuse from the Public Service Drivers.

Mr. Kamuti said that as the Association it wants to see the rights of commuters across the country upheld by all.

He lamented that in the past there have been rampant cases of Public Service drivers harassing travelers.

Mr. Kamuti commended Transport and Communications Deputy Minister Colonel Panji Kaunda for taking it upon himself to also be part of RTSA in carrying out its operations of impounding erring motorists.

THE Supreme Court has stayed criminal proceedings against opposition United Party for National Development (UPND) leader Hakainde Hichilema.

Supreme Court judge Munyinda Wanki directed yesterday that the criminal proceedings against Mr Hachilema be stayed pending determination of the Constitutional issues currently before the High Court.

This is means that the criminal proceedings in which Mr Hachilema is facing before the magistrate’s court that were supposed to go for commencement of trial today will not go ahead.

Judge Wanki has since set January 24 this year as the date for hearing of the application on behalf of Mr Hichilema to set aside judgment.

“It is hereby ordered and directed that the criminal proceedings against the appellant be and is hereby stayed pending determination of the matter inter parte. It is further ordered that this application shall be heard inter parte on 24 January 2013 on the hearing of application on the part of the applicant to set aside the judgment” Judge Wanki said.
Mr Hichilema is in this matter is charged with publication of false news contrary to the Laws of Zambia.

Through his lawyers he applied before Chief Resident Magistrate Joshua Banda for Constitutional reference of the indictment for the determination of the Constitutionality of the said provision of the penal code but Magistrate Banda refused the application.

Mr Hichilema on January 11, 2013 however appealed to the High Court asking it to stay the criminal proceedings against him but the High Court declined the application without stating reasons.

In another development, a witness yesterday told the Lusaka magistrate’s court that former Mines minister Maxwell and his Permanent Secretary Godwin Beene got annoyed when he informed them that there was overlapping of mining licenses issues to Zhongui International Mining Industry Group Limited and two others.

Gerald Chilumbu 54 Chief mining engineer in the ministry of Mines told the court that Mwale and Beene got upset when he informed them after the mining advisory committee meeting he chaired on June 2, 2011 that there was overlapping of mining licenses issues to Zhuo, Kelvin Mulumbwa and Alfred Malunga.

He said that Zhongui was issued with the license after Kelvin Mulumbwa and Alfred Malunga had already been issued with licenses and the same resulted in overlapping.

This is in a matter in which Mwale is facing two counts of abuse of authority and receiving property suspected of being proceeds of crime.

Mwale is jointly charged with Zhongui International Mining Industry Group Limited.

The Coalition for the Defence of Democratic Rights (CDDR) condemns the recent actions by Zambian Police to attempt to disrupt court proceedings and arrest opposition leader Hakainde Hichilema.

“Such a bold move by the police is without foundation in law and seeks to send a message to any member of the judiciary dealing with politically sensitive cases,” said Robert Amsterdam, international counsel to the CDDR. “Zambians are being deprived of an independent judiciary and rule of law when the police behave as though they are the armed wing of the Patriotic Front.”

On January 15th, 2013, Mr. Hichilema of the opposition United Party for National Development attended a court hearing regarding a politically motivated charge of “publication of false news” for statements he made last summer regarding the Patriotic Front’s agreement with the ruling party of Sudan. When Magistrate Joshua Banda temporarily stood the matter down, the police interjected before the court to demand the arrest of Mr. Hichilema for questioning, representing a serious breach of legal protocol.

“It is clear that the current government holds itself above the law when the Justice Minister bullies and threatens the ACC, when opposition leaders face multiple arrests for no reason every week, and when alleged corruption goes unpunished among prominent officials,” said Amsterdam. “The CDDR calls upon civil society groups and rule of law advocates to unite together and present these grievances before prominent international bodies to demand a return to due process and a constitutional separation of powers.”

Today, two Zambian Police officers in Lusaka interrupted a court session as they attempted to arrest opposition leader Hakainde Hichilema before being thwarted and ejected by the judge.

The incident occurred when Chief Resident Magistrate Joshua Banda stood down the matter momentarily.

The officers entered the court room and followed Hichilema, who is President of the United Party for National Development (UPND) to the dock and handed a call out, asking him to report to police for questioning.

But the opposition leader’s defence lawyers interjected the move and said it was unlawful for the police to issue a call out to an accused person or suspect who was in the middle of attending a court session.

When Magistrate Banda resumed the proceeding, lawyers representing Hichilema applied for adjournment of the matter, saying their client could no longer concentrate on the current case following an attempt by police to arrest him.

The state apologized on behalf of the police officers and Magistrate Banda said he would not tolerate lawlessness in his court.

The opposition Movement for Multiparty Democracy (MMD) Die- Hard national coordinator Bowman Lusambo has accused suspended MMD chairperson for Women Affairs Catherine Namugala and former MMD chairperson for Elections Gabriel Namulambe of being traitors.

Mr. Lusambo said what the duo was trying to project a picture of disunity in the MMD when it was not the case.

He noted that the two individuals were merely working against their party by bringing the name of MMD leadership into disrepute.

He said this when he addressed journalists in Lusaka today.

Mr. Lusambo said Mr. Namulambe and Ms. Namugala would not succeed in their efforts to destabilise the MMD because the former ruling party was strong.

He further claimed that Ms. Namugala and Mr. Namulambe were being used by selfish individuals who want to see the MMD sink.

But when contacted for a comment, Mr. Namulambe denied the accusations and said he does not recognise Mr. Lusambo’s Die- Hard group.

Efforts to get Ms. Catherine Namugala proved futile as her phone went unanswered.

ZANIS

Zambia’s Fourth President Mr Rupiah Bwezani Banda, has been requested by Kenya’s Independent Electoral Boundaries Commission (IEBC) to meet the leaders of the two main political parties in the March 4 Presidential and Parliamentary elections so as to help them realise the importance of putting their nation’s interest first.

IEBC vice-chairperson Lilian Zafa made the appeal last night at a dinner hosted in President Banda’s honour at Hotel Intercontinental in Nairobi.

Ms Zafa said it would be important for Kenya’s rival parties to listen to President Banda freely talk about his own electoral defeat in the 2011 Presidential elections and how he dealt with the choice between self preservation and national interest.

“President Banda, you have set a very high standard for Africa. We appreciate you very much. You are now stress-free as a true and respected elder statesman. For you, national interest took precedence.

“We shall request that you find time to meet the leaders of our political parties here in Kenya so that they may learn something from your experience,” said Mrs Zafa at the dinner that was attended by diplomats accredited to Kenya, high court judges, lecturers from the Kenyatta University School of Law and government officials.

Speaking at the same function, chairman of the Judiciary Working Committee on Electoral Preparations, Justice David Maraga, said the Kenyan people were honoured to have President Banda in their midst.

And the former Zambian head of State commended the Kenyan people for the measures they were putting in place to prepare for the elections and avoid the violence that characterized the 2007 elections.

President Banda is in Kenya to attend a conference dubbed ‘Elections March 2013: Imminent debates in the event of a Presidential run-off’ and organised by the Electoral Institute for Sustainable Democracy in Africa in partnership with the Independent Electoral Boundaries Commission, the Kenyan Judiciary and the Kenyatta University School of Law.