By SILUMESI MALUMO
I AM not a judge for me to acquit Hakainde Hichilema on privatisation allegations levelled against him, former Minister of Finance Katele Kalumba has said.
Dr Katele said it was only qualified judges who can pass judgement on the allegations made against the UPND president.
The former minister said he was not the right person who can free Mr Hichilema as there were right channels on how it can be done.
He said it was only important that Mr Hichilema also cleared himself on multiple questions on conflict of interest issue.
“What has been reported that I did clear Hakainde Hichilema on the privatisation issue is false. I am not a judge for me to acquit him. This can only be done by qualified judges because they are the ones who have been trained to handle cases of such nature and not me.
“I think there is need to be truthful in reporting instead of publishing issues that someone did not say. Such reporting is very misleading and should not be encouraged at all. We need to inform the nation with truth and not distortion,” Dr Kalumba said.
The News Diggers in its Tuesday, September 8, 2020 edition published a screaming headline “Katele acquits HH on privatisation, due diligence was done by Zambia Privatisation Agency, Hichilema being cited because he is seeking public office.
But Dr Kalumba said the media organisation twisted the entire statement he made, stating that he did indicate that Mr Hichilema needed to clear himself over the matter at hand.
Katele denies ‘acquitting’ HH
