WITCH-HUNT BEGINS

WITCH-HUNT BEGINS

…Hichilema unleashes cops after Lungu family supporters

 By George Zulu

IN WHAT is seen as a politically motivated witch-hunt, police in Lusaka yesterday forced former minister of health Professor Nkandu Luo to appear at their headquarters for interrogation despite her pleas to be allowed to mourn her dead daughter who was lying in the mortuary.

And Patriotic Front (PF) acting president Given Lubinda has described President Hakainde Hichilema’s administration as cruel and divisive using State institutions to fight political opponents.

Police had summoned Prof Luo in connection with a statement she recently made related to the death and funeral of former president Edgar Lungu in South Africa.

“I am here and ready to take doubtful police officers to the mortuary and show them that my daughter is dead and am in mourning,” Prof Luo said after appearing before the police.

Speaking after appearing at the Zambia Police Service Headquarters, Prof Luo said Prof Luo said she was disturbed that despite informing the police officers about the death of her daughter, they had found it fit to interrogate her.

She said she was only saved from more trauma by her lawyers who intervened for her to be allowed to mourn her daughter.

“I lost my daughter this morning at two [02:00 hours] in the morning. For the past one week, I have had discussions with the people here at the Force Headquarters about the fact that I have a predicament; that I have a daughter who is dying,” Prof Luo said.

She said the police officers who were interrogating her demanded that she present documents to prove that her daughter had died.

Prof Luo said Zambians had lost love, empathy and humanity,

The hatred people were showing now would haunt the generations to come.

“They asked me for documentation to prove that the young lady was coming back from India. All the information from the doctors that she had a terminal illness, including the fact that there was a statement that she was dying. But they still insisted that I had to come to the police station, whatever this place is called. So, I came as a mourning mother to come for interrogation. I was ready to be interrogated and whatever they decided they wanted to do, I told them to go ahead and do it. But my lawyer decided that I shouldn’t go ahead and do it,” she said as she was leaving the Zambia Police Headquarters in Ridgeway.

Prof Luo said what was happening to Zambia was strange.

“But I was ready because I don’t know what’s happening to this country. This is exactly my position. There is no love in this country. There is no empathy in this country. There is no anything where, you know, when your friends have a predicament, it makes sense to other people. So, I’m here as a grieving mother and I have helped myself for the interrogation. Whatever was decided had to be done to me and I will be available.,” she said

“But I have to mourn and the mourning doesn’t take one week or one day or whatever. So that’s it. I came today. Now I will be available when I finish mourning. We need a lot of people, a lot of people so that we can improve the country,” she said.

Pro Luo’s daughter, Dr Winnie Kunda, died yesterday in the early hours at the University Teaching Hospital (UTH).

And in an interview, Lubinda described the UPND government as cruel and cursed over the manner in which it was harassing Lungu’s family and supporters.

He said whatever evil spirits were running the UPND would not cross over 2026 as because Zambians were resolved to kick out the leadership.

“Surely, a mother has lost a child, a daughter, and she is in mourning and then you summon her? This is heartless. It is pure hate. President Hichilema’s government is cruel and cursed. This government wants to use State organs to fix people. We are not yet done with the funeral of Dr Edgar Chagwa Lungu and here we are again. I don’t know why this administration is so evil that it wants to fight even the dead,” Lubinda said.

And PF secretary general Raphael Nakacinda said police had followed him at court to serve him with a call-out over some remarks he made on Lungu’s death while in South Africa.