Dr Musumali tells Lungu, Wina to take responsibility
……..Stop harassing citizens and end PF impunity
By Staff Reporter
President Lungu and Vice-President Inonge Wina should take responsibility and end the impunity in the ruling Patriotic Front, opposition Socialist Party General Secretary Dr Cosmas Musumali has demanded.
Reacting to claims by the police that the raid and occupation of Dr Fred M’membe’s private residence in Mwika village in Shiwang’andu district was an investigation on suspicion that the house was acquired from proceeds of crime, Dr Musumali this was all lies.
Dr Musumali urged President Lungu and Vice-President Wina not to leave a legacy of a leadership that entrenched violence, savagery with impunity.
“.. President Lungu and let me add the Vice-President of this country, Mrs Inonge Wina – to both of you with the lumpen behavior exhibited in Shiwang’andu, you are rapidly isolating yourselves and PF from the masses,” he said. “The type of impunity that is being exhibited has repercations.
Muchinga Province Police Commissioner Joel Njase on Monday said the police acted on order by the provisional liquidator of the post newspaper Mr. Lewis Musho on suspicion that the house was acquired from proceeds of crime.
He said Musho was not the right authority whatsoever to determine criminal activities and that the house in question had been under construction for seven years now.
“The major part of the works have actually been undertaken long after the Post Newspaper was closed,” he said. “It is also not the only house built by Dr M’membe. The question therefore, remains, why this house in particular? The answer has to do with Mr Kampyongo and President Lungu of himself”.
Dr Musumali said the Mwika property was a thorn in the eyes of Kampyongo and his political aspirations as he viewed it as a centre of political mobilisation in Muchinga Province.
“The quick prominence of the socialist party in the province and Mr. Kampyongo’s aptly declining popularity is confusing him,” he said. “He wants to see this house destroyed and deny Dr M’membe who is the village headman any significant presence in the area”.
Dr Musumali said the house had been a focus of attacks and vandalism since 2016 when PF cadres justified their action that people in the village had insulted them.
“Secondly, last year Mr. Musho working together with Mr. Kampyongo sent a team to occupy the house. The reason given this time was that they wanted to re-cover costs associated with the liquidation of Post Newspapers,” he explained. “Again innocent people in the house were beaten up and the house vandalized, then the house was vacated and left in a very bad state”.
Dr Musumali wondered why the reason for occupation had now changed to an investigation with a possibility that the house was acquired with proceeds of crime.
He questioned why they were shifting goal posts if not embarking on a fishing escarped.
Dr Musumali said it was worrisome that the people who claim to be investigating decided to beat people who were found on the property, driving them into the bush for refugee.
“And does a house run away, like a human being would? Why chase away a herd of cattle that was in a kraal, what do cows have to do with the investigation?,” he asked. “Does the eating of other people’s food constitute part of the investigations?
Let us tell a different story, why brutalize and arrest people coordinating the formation of the socialist party branches? What has that got to do with the post newspaper liquidation?”
Dr Musumali explained that on all these occasions Dr M’membe had never been saved any demand, communicated to, or his lawyers informed about the action.
He told Njase not to stress by justifying misbehavior and brutality exhibited on Saturday by police officers as he might not have been privy to what was going on himself.
“Our strong suspicion is that you were not even aware of what was going on,” Dr Musumali said. “As usual Mr. Kampyongo is making your life and that of the entire police service extremely difficult.
Our suspicion is that recklessness of the raid was due to the PF thugs masquerading as police officers”.
Dr Musumali reiterated his call on President Edgar Lungu to immediately fire Kampyongo.
“Please take action. Mr. Kampyongo must go, he has become a liability,” he demanded.
