Gold saga was a criminal act – HH

…warns those involved, including government officials, State House staff that once the long arm of the law catches up with them, they will be on their own

ByNATION REPORTER

THE gold and money scandal that took place at the Kenneth Kaunda International Airport (KKIA) was purely a criminal act and all those involved, irrespective of their status whether at State House, government or foreign national will have to face the full wrath of the law, President Hakainde Hichilema has said.

And President Hichilema said he will ensure that all the questions that remained unanswered about the gold saga that transpired at the Kenneth Kaunda International Airport (KKIA) were brought to the table.

President Hichilema said the incident and its attendant location was nothing but a criminal act as it would have been and has commended the Drug Enforcement Commission (DEC) and other law enforcement agencies for bungling what would have been Zambia’s most embarrassing criminal undertaking ever.

Commenting on the raging gold scandal at State House yesterday, President Hichilema said it did not matter what challenges his government was facing but was determined to enforce the rule of law because without it, governing the country would be difficult.

“Let me refer to the airport (KKIA) saga. I must admit we created a gap in providing information but we do not want to leave room for a vacuum because it leads to innuendos. The incident at the airport and the attendant location was as crime would be. The crime took place on the Zambian soil purely as a criminal act and crimes will always be there where there are human beings.

“There will be crimes in the country but the question is how do we address the crime? Today, I want to emphasise that it does not matter which challenges stand in our way, we will enforce the law. It does not matter who is involved, this government (UPND government) will enforce the rule of law in its entirety. No one is above the law, once the law is transgressed, it triggers other processes and when that happens, we must not call it different names,” President Hichilema said.

President Hichilema has appealed to opposition political party leaders not to politicise the fight against corruption, stating that there was a possibility that the country would lose its focus on the real fight against graft.

He said all those who would engage in criminality irrespective of their status or nationality should know that Zambia was not a haven of criminals but a bastion of economic investment.  

“You engage in criminal activities, know that you are on your own. This President (Hichilema) will not tire. This government will not accommodate negative vices. In fighting corruption and criminality, we must not commit crimes and if anyone is found culpable, you are on your own. You cannot hide behind a political party. When you transgress, another law will be triggered and do not cry victim. What happened at the airport was a crime and it is good the scandal was exposed,” President Hichilema said.

And President Hichilema said there were questions about who had authorised the plane that was involved in the Gold saga to touch down at the KKIA runway and the people in yellow jackets who went to the plane that needed to be answered.

“We need to know those people who went on the runway with yellow jackets, where they work and what systems were used to facilitate what transpired,” he said.

He said he was told that there were a bit of negotiations for a while at KKIA but he was not going to dwell on it.

Mr Hichilema said what happened at KKIA indicated that there was a failure of supervision institutionally and they shall check which person was responsible for what happened.

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