Mon, 06 Mar 2017 10:20:17 +0000
By Charles Musonda
AN INQUIRY must be established to determine the manner in which second republican president Dr. Frederick Chiluba and his wife Regina, who died last week, were treated, New Revolution Party (NRP) president Cozmo Mumba has demanded.
Supporting the call for an inquiry in an interview yesterday, Dr. Mumba said it was unfortunate that Dr. Chiluba was subjected to severe humiliation and indignity over many years only to be acquitted.
“This should never happen to any President in the future and those responsible for Dr. Chiluba’s tribulations must be brought to book,” Dr. Mumba said.
He added: “The death of Dr. Chiluba came after his illustrious leadership. Immediately after he left power he was taken to small police cells and the small court. From there he was in and out of court. It is unfortunate that immediately after he was found innocent it did not take long for him to die.
“Dr. Chiluba was denied access to better medical facilities after serving the people of Zambia for 10 years and ending shortages of essential commodities like mealie meal, sugar and cooking oil. He was betrayed by people he trusted and I want to challenge people like Fred M’membe to declare themselves clean in the persecution of Dr. Chiluba. The (defunct) Post newspaper became the accuser, prosecutor and judge,” Dr. Mumba said.
He said he was in support of veteran journalist Richard Sakala’s call for an inquiry into the manner Dr. Chiluba and subsequent presidents were treated by a cabal of individuals that usurped State power.
“On behalf of the youths, I wish to support Comrade Richard Sakala’s call for an inquiry into the death of Dr. Chiluba. This issue must be taken seriously because we want to know who was involved. In the near future leaders must be protected and the issue of fighting former leaders must come to an end,” Dr. Mumba said.
He also appealed to the police and other law enforcement agencies to take decisive action against politicians demeaning President Edgar Lungu’s leadership.
“President Lungu was unanimously elected and sworn in as President of the Republic of Zambia. The Minister of Home Affairs’ duty is to protect the presidency and the Zambian people from being misled. The duty of the Minister of Justice is to interpret the law and defend the Constitution.
“I have learnt with sadness and serious caution that the UPND has continued referring to its party president Mr. Hakainde Hichilema as the duly elected republican president. People of Zambia decided to put President Lungu as the Head of State and I am calling on the UPND to accept the reality that President Lungu is the Head of State. Apart from being ordained by God, President Lungu was elected by the people of Zambia to rule the country,” he said.
He added that the NRP was worried that the police had ‘‘gone to sleep’’ over issues that were already in the public domain.
