State agents abducted Findlay, lawyer says
By George Zulu
LAWYERS representing detained prominent Lusaka businessman Valden Findlay have described his arrest as a State abduction.
Confirming Findlay’s arrest and detention, lawyer Milner Katolo said three unidentified officers forced his client into a vehicle, a move he referred to as an abduction.
“My client was picked up by unknown people in a manner I would describe as an abduction. They forced and bundled him in a vehicle from his farm in Katuba to an unknown place,” Katolo said.
In a statement seen by The Mast, Findlay’s family complained about the conduct of the police, who seized their relative like a common criminal.
“Our family wishes to confirm that Mr. Harry Findlay is currently in police custody following his detention yesterday. At the time of issuing this statement, he has not been formally charged with any offence,” a family spokesperson said.
The spokesperson said Findlay was a law-abiding citizen and was seeking fair treatment.
“As a family, we respect the rule of law and the law enforcement agencies. The State authorities have been made aware of the seriousness of Mr. Findlay’s medical condition through medical reports and repeated requests seeking the release of his passport to enable him to travel for urgent specialised treatment, as recommended by his doctors,” he said.
The spokesperson said despite these requests, Findlay had been denied access to treatment.
“We therefore respectfully appeal that his medical needs receive urgent attention and compassionate consideration consistent with our Constitution, the law and the humanitarian values that underpin our justice system,” he said.
The spokesperson said Findlay should not be treated like a criminal as the truth would come out if he had committed any crimes against the laws of Zambia,” he said.
The family was confident the truth would emerge through the proper legal process, and “respectfully appeal that Mr Findlay’s rights be protected and he be treated with dignity and fairness, and that any decision affecting his liberty and his urgent medical needs be made impartially, compassionately and in accordance with the law”.
And sources within the police say Findlay was picked in connection with a complaint from a senior State House official.
The source close to the investigation said Findlay’s arrest emanated from a WhatsApp chat he had had with a former Patriotic Front (PF) official who had now defected to the UPND.
“We were just instructed from State House to pick him up over the WhatsApp chat he had with that woman who defected to the PF. Findlay’s only crime is to ask that PF lady why she betrayed former president Edgar Chagwa Lungu by joining the UPND,” one of the officers close to the investigations said.
He said Findlay was also being investigated for allegedly sponsoring National Reconciliation Party for Unity and Prosperity (NRPUP) campaigns.
“The boss thinks he is the one funding Mr Mundubile and Makebi. This is complicated. They want to join him to those guys we picked up at the airport from Russia,” the source said.
Godfrey Chilabi, the police spokesperson, could not respond to a press query sent to him on the case.
