Africa-Press – Malawi. A Zambian investigative journalist Jubilee Malambo is battling for his life after he was allegedly poisoned by suspected sugilite mafias in Luapula province.
Malambo is said to have been poisoned through food given by government officials during a ground-break ceremony when he was invited to cover the event in the province in February 2023. The journalist is said to have been in the company of unidentified intelligence officials during the event.
The poisoning came after the journalist who worked for private Prime Television (TV) refused to receive bribes from government and party officials for being exposed in a sugilite scandal.
Malambo was poisoned before the story was televised on 19 senior government officials including the minister who was involved in mining the precious stone sugilite without legal documents from the Zambian government.
Despite the threat to his life, the story was aired on Prime TV on the following days of poisoning making government and ruling party officials restless.
Eventually, the expose forced the Zambian president Hakainde Hichilema to subsequently fire two district commissioners Deputy permanent permanent secretary at the Ministry of Mines ministers among other senior government officials and party members. Sources in Zambia disclosed that all 19 suspects are appearing before the court of law in Mansa Luapula province.
This came as President Hichilema during the inauguration at Heroes Stadium in his inaugural address told the nation that the New Dawn administration would condone lawbreakers and promised the entire nation that he would govern the country by the rule of law.
Speaking on his hospital bed at an unnamed hospital where he went for an operation Malambo’s uncle Cromwell Mweemba and his brother Banister Malambo told The Maravi Post that his nephew is battling for adverse effects of poison which he consumed during the saga.
“He got poisoned when he was offered fruit food (Grapes) during the ground-breaking event in the province in February this year. He got the food in the car without realizing any sense of poisoning. This happened when his colleagues were dropped at their respective workplaces (offices).
“Immediately, after being dropped home around 19:00 hours, my nephew started feeling unwell until he started vomiting uncontrollably. He thought it was Malaria in the first place but a nearby clinic diagonalized nothing,” says Mweemba.
He added, “When his health started deteriorating, we rushed to the hospital where he was diagnosed with food poisoning. He was given medication to ease the poisoning effect in the intestines. His condition is normalizing now that we expect to fly him outside the country for further medical attention.
“We have been to a number of hospitals but we have noticed traces of those government officials who were exposed and got fired over the scandal. As a family, we feel unsafe for my nephew to get proper treatment in the country,” worried Mweemba. Mweemba also said his nephew was also fired from Prime TV where he was working rendering him jobless without terminal benefits.
According to the journalist’s uncle, Jubilee who has been working with Prime TV since 2019, got fired after the story was aired accusing him of professional misconduct as some of the officials exposed in the article are shareholders of the TV station.
“He was fired while on the sick bed without inviting him to any disciplinary hearing of his alleged professional misconduct. In fact, the TV station director has been dodging to meet him for talks.
“Without salary, how is one going to survive and settle medical bills while getting poisoned on duty? The family is aggrieved with this type of treatment. We are currently appealing to well-wishers to support us with funds for my nephew’s further medical,” appeals Mweemba.
When asked what to do with suspected officials involved in the poisoning, “Zambia law clears say whoever alleges, must prove it before the court of law. This is the reason we are gathering all the evidence including the medical reports for legal battle”.
Although Jubilee reluctantly did not want to speak on the matter, he told The Maravi Post, “I will only give out all the information (the people who poisoned me) when I meet President Hichilema or his vice and any trusted president’s office as these are the only trusted people on my fate currently”. The Maravi Post understands that MISA Zambia just issued a statement on alleged Jubilee’s suspected poisoning without taking further action.
Background
According to the report, Luapula province is ranked as the poorest province in Zambia despite the abundance of mineral deposits in all the districts. Sugilite is one of the precious minerals in Luapula province as it fetches highly on the market, second to copper.
Currently, the ministry is traded at 5,000 per kilogram of Zambian Kwacha. In a joint operation, police in Mansa have apprehended and formally charged a group of nineteen individuals, including a former Minister and a Police Commissioner, for engaging in illegal mining activities related to Sugilite.
The charges filed against them include carrying out mining operations without a license and conveying unlawfully acquired property, as outlined in the relevant sections of the Mines and Minerals Development Act No.11 of 2015 and the Penal Code Act Chapter 87 of the laws of Zambia, respectively.
According to the case details, the accused individuals are alleged to have conducted unauthorized mining activities in the Muombe Mine area of Chembe District, Luapula Province, between January 4, 2023, and February 13, 2023.
During this period, they reportedly extracted approximately 23 tonnes of Sugilite Mineral Ore without the necessary license. Subsequently, the mined material was transported from Chembe to the Kapiri Mposhi district.
Among those arrested are Honourable Derrick Chilundika, a former Minister for Luapula Province, and Ms. Gloria Cheelo Mulele, the Police Commissioner for Northern Province.
The group also includes prominent individuals such as Nelson Kalembwe, the UPND Youth Chairperson for Luapula Province, Jones Nkandu, a UPND Provincial Youth Leader, and JerryJustin Bwalya, the Acting UPND Provincial Chairperson.
Others involved in the case include Obbrey Simauki, a Provincial UPND Youth Secretary, Royd Mwansa, a former Deputy Permanent Secretary for Luapula Province, and Robert Mutepuka and Morton Sikazwe, former District Commissioners for Nchelenge and Mwansabombwe, respectively.
Sugilite is a rare and captivating gemstone known for its vivid purple color and metaphysical properties. It is also sometimes referred to as “Luvulite” or “Royal Azel” due to its regal appearance. Sugilite was first discovered in 1944 by the Japanese petrologist Ken-ichi Sugi, from whom it derived its name
For More News And Analysis About Malawi Follow Africa-Press
