By ADRIAN MWANZA
Properties belonging to late second Republican President Fredrick Chiluba should not have been forfeited to the state because procedures were abrogated.
Family members yesterday revealed that the state claimed that the properties were forfeited because Dr Chiluba did not claim the property.
Dr Chiluba’s children Darlington and Kaindu who are part of the administrators, said the move by the state was wrong because the former head of state claimed the property.
”He claimed the property and a judge granted him but the state appealed long after he had died,” Kaunda and Darlington Chiluba said.
The Chiluba family is displeased with the deliberate and planned abuse and misrepresentation of his name and legacy.
The family through its administrators wish to put the record straight, that Dr Chiluba has always been the owner of Tedworth assets and never shied away from claiming those assets.
“That is why he won the case in the High Court in 2010 as owner of Tedworth,” the family says.
“That court emphatically found that no government funds were used in the procurement of Tedworth assets. The judge actually ruled that the Taskforce / ACC should provide an account of rentals for the period the assets were in their custody. They failed to account then and never have,” the administrators said.
Shockingly, the administrators said, the ACC seemingly waited for Dr Chiluba to die before appealing that judgement in a very cruel and self-serving manner.
“They even appealed out of the allowable legal time the law permits so the supreme court should not even have allowed that appeal. What is even more shocking is that the ACC no longer stated that the assets were bought with government funds, because the ACC knows for a fact the assets were not bought with government funds. Their appeal was that the owner of the assets did not claim them back and therefore does not deserve them. This argument had nothing to do with the original case and cause, furthermore, they were appealing against a deceased person whom competent courts had acquitted.”
The Chiluba family has said that Central government must not allow the ACC to hide the scandal of Tedworth properties by smearing the late President. ”He accounted fully for those assets. The only thing the ACC does is mention the value of the assets and the rentals collected but this is their own version of events. They failed to account under court order and in the presence of the owner of the assets. Suddenly they are keen to put in the public’s mind their own version of events.”
The family also says a lot of abuse has taken place. That is why the family through its administrators, Kaindu, Darlington and Chisulo continue to pursue the matter and appeal to government to have a fresh look at this issue. A true anti-corruption fight is logical and objective, not vengeful and personal. These assets belong to the Chiluba family and must not be peddled as proceeds of crime because the real crime was committed against him.
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