Fri, 15 Feb 2013 13:23:29 +0000
Former president Rupiah Banda has described as totally untrue and a malicious fabrication reports that he was seeking political asylum in South Africa.
The reports he said, are not only untrue but a grave defamation of his character because he has never at anytime contemplated fleeing Zambia because there was no reason for doing so “I am certainly coming back home before proceeding for other international assignments” he said.
There was absolutely no truth that the South African Government had been approached to offer him asylum.
Speaking in a telephone interview with the Daily Nation, he explained that this was not the first time he had travelled for other destinations including South Africa and contrary to suggestions, he did not sneak out of the country but travelled through the Kenneth Kaunda International Airport for South Africa where s among other things he met with his Lawyer Robert Amsterdam who was deported and is not allowed in the country..
Yesterday President Sata accused Mr Banda and other opposition leaders of seeking asylum in South Africa and warned that he would ensure his extradition and have his immunity removed adding that South African President Jacob Zuma was not ready to grant Mr Banda asylum.
And MMD President Nevers Mumba has also denied accusations by President Michael Sata that he seeking criminal asylum in South Africa.
Dr Mumba who addressed a media briefing at his residence in Kabulonga in Lusaka, said the opposition leaders that travelled to South Africa had no intentions of leaving Zambia because they have nothing to run away from.
” 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.
“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.” He said.
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.
