HH transfer not unconstitutional

Sun, 11 Jun 2017 11:40:49 +0000

By PRINCE CHIBAWAH

CLAIMS by UPND lawyers that the rights of Hakainde Hichilema have been violated following his transfer from Lusaka Central Prison to Mukobeko Maximum Prison in Kabwe are totally incorrect because Correctional Authorities have the discretion to keep remandees in facilities they deem fit.

On Friday, Mr Hichilema’s legal team issued a statement condemning the transfer of their client describing it unconstitutional.

“The move to transfer the accused persons (Mr Hichilema and his co-accused) is not only unconstitutional but also contrary to the specific orders of Court as to the accused persons rights to visitation and to freely access their legal representatives,” reads part of the statement signed by the UPND legal chairman Jack Mwiimbu.

But the Patriotic Front (PF) has rubbished Mr Mwiimbu’s claims and questioned whether the UPND legal team is competent enough to continue representing Mr Hichilema.

In an interview yesterday, PF Deputy Spokesperson Frank Bwalya described the claims by the UPND lawyers as cheap politicking.

“Ordinarily as a party, we are not supposed to make any official comment on the matter. It is the responsibility of the officials from the Zambia Correctional Service to respond to allegations leveled against them.”

“However, when you read the statement in question, there is no doubt it’s the usual cheap political gymnastics of the UPND. Typical the manner the Zambian Watchdog writes. We are convinced that the purpose of the statement is to wipe up public outrage and continue attempting to portray the Zambian Government as authoritarian and engaged in human rights abuses.”

Mr Bwalya challenged Mr. Mwiimbu and the entire UPND legal team to state any law in the Zambian Constitution which stipulates that an accused person of a capital crime like Mr Hichilema should be remanded at a place of his choice or that of his lawyers.

“Those lawyers have not quoted any law that stipulates that their client should be remanded at his place of choice. If they believe that it’s illegal to transfer Mr Hichilema to Mukobeko Maximum Prison in Kabwe we expect them to do what they are popular for, namely raising a preliminary issue with the competent Court.”

“The fact that they have chosen to play to the gallery shows that they are just cheap politicking,” said Mr Bwalya.

Mr Bwalya said instead of mealy politicking, the UPND legal team needed to prove that the Correctional Authorities had withdrawn Mr Hichilema’s rights as alleged. “We urge Mr Hichilema’s lawyers to realise that their client his spending a lot of money for them to represent him and they should by all means avoid wasting money and time by engaging in useless quarrels,” said Mr Bwalya.