YOU’LL PAY HEAVILY FOR DETENTIONS
…Muhabi says continued detention of opposition leaders will have serious local and international consequences
By Thandizo Banda
GOVERNMENT will pay a heavy price for the illegal detention of opposition leaders, We are One Zambia (WOZA) Secretary General Muhabi Lungu has warned.
Speaking on Millennium Radio’s The Interview programme, Lungu said the continued detention of opposition leaders at Mukobeko Maximum Security Prison on trumped-up treason charges would have serious consequences for the country.
Lungu said keeping the opposition in custody without trial was unlawful and would cost the nation dearly, both locally and internationally.
“Under systems that work, after my illegal detention, I was compensated by the state. All properties I own now are proceeds of that wrongful arrest. My caution is simple. There will be a heavy price to pay for today’s illegal detentions of Brian Mundubile, Makebi Zulu and others,” Lungu said.
Lungu said the damage the United Party for National Development (UPND) government had done was more than enough, as it had dented the nation’s image globally.
“Those held include opposition leader Brian Mundubile, his running mate Makebi Zulu, retired Bishop Trevor Mwamba, lawyer George Chisanga, businessman Harry Valden Findlay, Patrick Mwansa, Davis Chisopa and a dozen others. The United Nations has described their charges as concocted, including the EU,” he said.
Lungu said continued detention without trial was illegal and the government should release the detainees forthwith.
“Government is playing cat and mouse and thinks Zambians are idiots. This government has done so much damage to this country; this is not the Zambia we want. You cannot incarcerate a person for challenging for a political position. This is unacceptable,” Lungu said.
He recalled his own detention 30 years ago on murder and treason charges, warning that abusing power by those in authority should be condemned.
“I was arrested on 4 June at age 29, appeared in court the next day, and was acquitted after three and a half months for lack of evidence. That is due process,” he said.
He challenged Attorney General Mulilo Kabesha and Director of Public Prosecutions Gilbert Phiri to act now by taking those arrested to court without fail.
“If you don’t have evidence, release them. The world is watching. You have embarrassed this nation so much. And now we have a leader who is scared to attend the United Nations General Assembly because of the backlash,” he said.
And Lungu criticised Kabesha for claiming there was no evidence of malpractice in the disputed August 13 election.
“Let Kabesha deny that Mundubile was abducted and released on 14 August. Let him deny that his friend Mutotwe Kafwaya was shot twice. The state first denied it, then admitted killing him only after his wife sought habeas corpus,” he said.
Lungu also challenged the Electoral Commission of Zambia (ECZ) on why it stopped counting for six hours after polling day and why courts were shut down, preventing the opposition from challenging the results.
Lungu said the government was reversing basic law.
“This is a very strange government with strange people leading us. First you investigate, gather evidence, then arrest. Don’t arrest first and probe later. Even a first-year law student knows this,” he said.
He praised former president Dr Kenneth Kaunda for pardoning coup suspects like Edward Shamwana and Christon Tembo without waiting for courts.
“Mundubile, Makebi, Bishop Mwamba and others are in high spirits because they know they are innocent. They are not militia. Take them to court or free them,” he said.
