GIVE GBM BAIL – TONSE ALLIANCE
By Tony Nkhoma
DO not hate your brother Geoffrey Bwalya Mwamba (GBM), give him bail, Tonse Alliance Spokesperson, Sean Tembo has told President Hakainde Hichilema.
And Tembo said former vice president Nevers Mumba is roaming the streets and enjoying the same benefits of bail pending appeal which GBM has been denied by President Hichilema.
Speaking during a press briefing in Lusaka over the week, Tembo said Hichilema should show responsibility as Head of State by giving GBM an unconditional pardon.
“Give him an unconditional pardon. Because if we talk about bail, we know that President Hichilema likes to avoid responsibility. So when we talk about bail, he’s going to say, no, that is an issue of the Judiciary,” Tembo said.
Tembo challenged Hichilema not to hate GBM but to demonstrate love and justice by pardoning him so that he can travel abroad and seek specialised medical treatment.
“He has suffered enough in prison. So that’s a challenge to you, President Hichilema. If you do not hate your brother, GBM, pardon him so that he is able to travel for his medicals,” Tembo said
Tembo said GBM might be UPND’s next political opponent to die after Edith Nawakwi due to the injustice he was receiving in his incarceration.
Tembo has described President Hichilema and the UPND’s treatment towards incarcerated GBM as harsh and inhumane.
“We are talking about a life and death situation here. So the question is, instead of the government giving us excuses why they cannot evacuate GBM to South Africa, why can’t they give him bail pending appeal so that instead of sending prison warders to accompany him to South Africa, he can just go with his family? That is a question that we are asking President Hichilema,” Tembo said.
Tembo said former vice president Mumba’s case was not different from GBM who was now being denied bail pending appeal, while, Mumba was given bail by the same Court.
“The question is, why can’t Honourable GBM be given bail pending appeal of his sentence? From our standpoint, this treatment is very harsh. That is a question that you should be asking Mr Hichilema, Jack Mwimbu, Cornelius Mweetwa and Thabo Kawana. Why are they giving excuses? We are dealing with a life and death situation here, take responsibility atleast for once by doing the right thing with a human face, these are just politics, you can not trade a life with politics,” Tembo said.
Tembo said the health of GBM was more important than the need for him to serve his sentence.
“We have people who have been convicted in this country and they are out on bail pending appeal and they are living reasonably normal lives. A case in point is the former vice president, Dr Nevers Mumba.,” Tembo said
Tembo said Mumba was convicted a few years ago and he was given bail pending appeal and was roaming the streets and able to contribute to the political discourse of the country.
“Why? Because he was given bail pending appeal. So why can’t the government extend the same courtesy to Honourable GBM? Because when you look at Dr Nevers Mumba, he is in very healthy condition. Even at the time that he was given bail pending appeal, he was very healthy,” Tembo said.
