Fri, 07 Dec 2012 15:28:20 +0000
December 7 2012
Hakainde Hichilema has charged that Justice Minister Wynter Kabimba has no regard for the law and therefore, should not be allowed to continue being at the helm of the justice system of the country.
And former Works and Supply Minister Mike Mulongoti has challenged Mr. Kabimba to own-up and respect the office he was holding, saying if he was not ready to be treated like an honorable minister then he should step aside because his behavior was embarrassing to both government and the legal profession.
Mr. Hichilema said that President Sata should genuinely get worried with the conduct exhibited by his minister, adding that
Mr. Kabimba was creating tension in the country.
“I have always said that the Patriotic Front (PF) government has no respect for the rule of law and we saw what Mr. Kabimba, the person at the helm of the justice system of the country behaved. If it were Hakainde, his cadre deputy Inspector of police Solomon Jere would have directed his PF police officers to beat and eliminate the people but because it is PF and Kabimba, nothing is wrong. That is double standards we have been talking about,” said Mr. Hichilema.
He said that Zambians should be worried about where the PF government was taking the country to, adding that it was highly strange that even the church was quiet on a very serious and important issue of governance.
The opposition leader observed that there was tension building up in the PF which would soon spill over to the rest of the country making the PF fail to hold on to power as a result of certain individuals who were not being objective, sincere and honest with the leadership.
Mr. Hichilema said that the PF leadership was incorrigible and was not ready to listen to its own electorates, adding that the conduct by Mr. Kabimba should be condemned by all peace loving Zambians.
And Mr. Mulongoti has demanded that Justice Minister Kabimba lead by example by reconsidering his position as Minister in government as he was no longer an ordinary person to do things in a way he wanted.
He said that Mr. Kabimba should know that his conduct had a negative bearing on the leadership of the PF and his profession as a lawyer.
Mr. Mulongoti who is also a lawyer said that Mr. Kabimba had shown insolence to a standard system of justice which required him (Kabimba) interviewed without any interference by anyone.
“He knows that such matters are conducted in a closed place from public eyes and ears. We expect him to behave like an honourable person because that is what he is by holding that position. If he is not ready to be treated like one then let him step aside. He should know that his conduct was not good,” he said. Mr. Mulongoti who vigorously supported the PF and President Sata during the 2011 general elections warned Mr. Kabimba that power corrupts the mind of individuals and therefore, he must be careful in the manner he was conducting himself.
He said that the corruption allegations he was facing were not lodged in by the public but that they emanated from the quarrels he started against Defence Minister Geoffrey Mwamba.
Mr. Mulongoti said that Mr. Kabimba was lucky that he was still serving as minister when the general demand for justice was that he should have stepped down to allow for the probe without any interference.
Mr. Kabimba has come under fire from a cross section of society after he organisd cadres to disrupt an interview with ACC on Monday.
The action by Mr. Kabimba has been described as a defeat to justice and an assault on the justice system of the country.
