By ADRIAN MWANZA
STOP using institutions like The Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) to persecute former heads of state because this trend is detrimental and tarnishes the image of the nation, former Transport and Communications Minister Brian Mushimba has said.
Dr Mushimba in an interview said that some politicians were using institutions to fight their battles and in the process ended up tarnishing their opponent’s image both nationally and internationally.
He said that a case in point was fourth Republican President Rupiah Banda who was persecuted and even had his immunity removed but it was later discovered that the persecutions did not lead to anything at all.
“It is unfortunate that people like Kenneth Kaunda and even the late Mr Banda had to through a lot of persecution but in the long run it was discovered that they were innocent,” he said.
He urged politicians to desist from this trend because this is what they usually did to destroy their political enemies during these battles.
Dr Mushimba said that the gimmick of persecution brought about division in the country and most people were slowly moving away from that trend.
He also said that most Zambians had a tendency of tarnishing the image of former presidents which needed to change because most of Zambian leaders are revered in the region and the continent at large.
“Can you imagine the treatment KK received from Zambians to an extent of even stripping him off his nationality despite him doing a lot for the southern region,” he said.
Dr Mushimba said that Dr Kaunda was at par with the likes of Nelson Mandela in statue because he was the pillar of the SADC region.
He said that it was good that Zambia was slowly transitioning and that people were now using their cerebral muscle rather than engage in physical fights.
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