By KETRA KALUNGA
UTTERENCES by President Hakainde Hichilema that the former boss of Disaster Management and Mitigation Unit (DMMU) built mansions using public money, is prejudicial as it declares him guilty before being tried by courts of law, Lusaka lawyer, Tutwa Ngulube has said.
President Hichilema on Saturday said senior UPND officials were pleading to manage DMMU because they had seen how the one who was at the unit had built mansions using public funds at the expense of vulnerable children who were not in school.
Mr. Ngulube however said the statement was prejudicial and could even jeopardise investigations that would be instituted against the former DMMU boss because the Head of State had portrayed a picture that he was already guilty without being prosecuted.
He said in an interview that the Head of State should refrain from making alarming statements because he risked putting the country at crossroads.
“That statement is prejudicial, building a mansion shouldn’t be a judgment, it shouldn’t be the measure for corruption unless you have evidence that this mansion has been built from corrupt practices,” Mr Ngulube said.
And Mr. Ngulube who is former Patriotic Front deputy parliamentary chief whip said it was illogical reasoning and a fallacy that the person who was in charge of DMMU made a lot of money because its budget was approved by parliament.
He said it was therefore not possible that a person could build mansions using DMMU money because the institution was a government department subject to auditing.
“The issue is people are failing to understand what the role of DMMU is. The DMMU budget is approved by parliament, so it’s not possible that people can start building mansions by using DMMU money,” he said.
Mr. Ngulube said if there were people who were suspected to have stolen, they should be arrested instead of labeling anyone who had built a mansion as being a thief.
Ends.
