APOLOGISE TO SA
…UPND must say sorry for portraying SA judges as corruptible
- Chisanga has warned that the audio has grave repercussions on the diplomatic relations of the two governments
- Zambians who were doubting the authenticity of the audio should now believe after Vice President Mutale Nalumango acknowledged the plot as a “mere suggestion” by two dreaming and fantasising people.
By George Zulu
THE United Party for National Development (UPND) administration must apologise to the South African government and its judiciary for suggesting that its judges are corruptible, senior lawyer George Chisanga has said.
Chisanga said President Hakainde Hichilema’s government had become an embarrassment not only in Southern Africa but the whole world.
He said Africa and the world were laughing at Zambia’s insatiable appetite for corruption and bribes.
A leaked audio recording has gone viral in which Minister of Community Development and Social Services Doreen Mwamba and Patriotic Front (PF) Mafinga Member of Parliament Robert Chabinga are heard discussing a scheme to interfere with a case in South Africa concerning the burial of former Zambian president Edgar Lungu.
Government has tried to downplay the humongous scandal claiming the audio was generated using artificial intelligence (AI) technology and that Mwamba and Chabinga were speaking in their individual capacities.
“That leaked audio between a minister and Chabinga is an indictment on the head of state. I want to caution government against downplaying the gravity of a leaked audio recording involving Mafinga Member of Parliament Robert Chabinga and a Cabinet minister. It has grave repercussion on the diplomatic standing of the two governments,” Chisanga said.
He said the incident risked straining diplomatic ties between Zambia and South Africa and other countries in Southern Africa who would now view Zambia as a home of bribes, corruption and judicial interference.
Chisanga said Zambians who were doubting the authenticity of the audio should now believe after Vice President Mutale Nalumango acknowledged the plot as a “mere suggestion” by two dreaming and fantasising people.
He urged the UPND government to apologise to South African President Cyril Ramaphosa over Chabinga’s intentions to commit an illegality in that country in the name of Hichilema in order to maintain bilateral relations.
Chisanga said what happened was a serious indictment on the Zambian government, warning that its effect would be catastrophic at government and business levels.
“What are the implications of what Mr Chabinga was doing? Time has come to reflect on what Chabinga has done. It is a dent not only on government but on Parliament. This is not an everyday story. We must deal with this matter decisively. We are faced with a situation where we have to address ourselves on what we need to do now that it has been laid bare. That somebody who ranks very high in the political platform of this country was making inflammatory remarks and suggesting a declaration of intent to go and commit a serious crime in a country where the dispute whether to repatriate the remains of the former president [Lungu] is being considered,” he said.
Chisanga warned that the entire Southern African Development Community (SADC) had taken the plot seriously because it was revealed by a member of Parliament backed by the government.
Lungu’s family has since reported the leaked audio to the High Court judge handling the case in Pretoria.
