Africa-Press – Zambia. The Patriotic Front (PF) says it is deeply concerned with the overzealousness being exhibited by law enforcement agencies in the fight against corruption under the new dawn government.
PF Member of the Central Committee and Chairman for Information and Publicity Hon. Raphael Nakachinda says the country has in the recent past witnessed unprecedented activities in the fight against the so-called corruption by law enforcement agencies.
Speaking at a media briefing that was earlier scheduled to be addressed by party Vice President Hon. Given Lubinda, Hon. Nakachinda charged that the continued interrogation of party officials and Secretariat staff by law enforcement agencies over the source of campaign funds for the PF is illegal and the practice must immediately come to a stop.
“In the recent past we have had DEC summoned the Secretary-General, we had comrade Antonio Mwanza summoned by DEC, we had Mr. Mambepa equally summoned by DEC and consistently the questions were to do with the funding of the Patriotic Front,” Hon. Nakachinda explained.
He has since wondered which law DEC is using to question PF officials when there is no legal backing for these law enforcement agencies to ask the source of funding for the Patriotic Front.
Hon. Nakachinda who is also the immediate past Minister of Water Development and Sanitation has further noted with regret that the UPND government is now trying to use law enforcement agencies to question the source of funding for the PF when they were the ones who strongly objected to the political party’s bill which wanted to among other clauses compel political parties to disclose their source of funding.
“The UPND in opposition then shot down that Bill and the one that was in the forefront was the current Home Affairs Minister Hon. Jack Mwimbu who objected to the introduction of that Bill on the floor of the house and was saying that it is not necessary for political parties to disclose their source of income,” he added.
Hon. Nakachinda disclosed that the PF has since sued all the law enforcement agencies through the Attorney General to stop questioning the PF’s source of funding because it is illegal adding that the UPND is playing double standards when they equally have not been questioned over their source of funding.
