Zambia: Socialist Party urges “justice with compassion” as former first lady raided
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Heavily armed Zambian police raided the home of former president Edgar Lungu yesterday in an investigation for car theft. Several cars were impounded that police allege were stolen by the former first lady of Zambia.
Police say that they have initiated investigations following a report of vehicle theft. They say that these vehicles have been located at the properties of Mrs Lungu in an upmarket residential area of Lusaka. It is alleged that the former president’s wife seized the vehicles from a woman in August last year. The vehicles are a Mitsubishi truck and two small Toyota sedans.
The victim is said to have been coerced into handing over the vehicles after having been driven to the residence of Mrs Lungu. This raid comes 10 months after Zambia’s anti-money laundering agency questioned the wife of the former president in connection with 15 luxury flats. The state alleges that the properties in question are “ill-gotten gains”, however no charges were filed.
“Targeted”
Supporters of the former president and his wife from the Patriotic Front showed their support for for the couple by descending on the residence. They allege that the anti-corruption initiatives are serving a political agenda in targeting opponents of the incumbent, President Hakainde Hichilema. A Patriotic Front spokesperson accused Hichilema’s government of harbouring “paranoia and anger and vindictiveness”, as the raid was underway.
In March 2023, Zambia’s Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) arrested opposition party official Given Lubinda for alleged corruption involving more than $500,000, while in December 2022, former foreign affairs minister Joseph Malanji was arrested and charged. The ACC has arrested several high-profile former ruling party officials.
President Hichilema denies allegations that he is targeting his opponents. In 2021 President Lungu lost elections to President Hakainde Hichilema, who before winning the vote by a landslide was a veteran opposition leader.
Socialist Party of Zambia responds
The president of the Socialist Party of Zambia, Fred M’membe appealed in a statement for “justice with compassion”. He said:
“We saw such practices under Mr Lungu’s reign and we strongly condemned them. Mr Hakainde Hichilema was a victim of such practices. Zambians of good will certainly don’t want such practices to continue even under feelings or reasons of vengeance.”
He called the incident at the former President’s house “totally unnecessary and unjustifiable”
“Whatever crimes he or some members of his household were suspected to have committed, the police could have handled issues in a less dramatic and traumatising way.”
“We saw such practices under Mr Lungu’s reign and we strongly condemned them. Mr Hakainde Hichilema was a victim of such practices. Zambians of good will certainly don’t want such practices to continue even under feelings or reasons of vengeance.”
“It is a well-known fact that throughout history, those who administer or control the criminal justice system hold the power with the potential for abuse and tyranny. Let’s not go that way. We can do things better and in the right way.”
“Let’s pursue justice with compassion even when dealing with those who brutalised us. That’s the only way we will be able to build a more just, fair and humane society in our homeland.”
“These are really hard, difficult and challenging times. But they are not supposed to mean a situation in which things get worse and worse. It means a crossroads, a time for decisions and actions – in this case, about which way we want our society, politics and economy to go,” the statement concluded.
