Posts in category: Uncategorized

By NATION REPORTER 

EDITH Nawakwi has said the case of the Hatembos who were abducted by known people prior to the 2021 general elections would give her an opportunity to tell the nation what had exactly transpired at the time.

And Ms Nawakwi has claimed that her life is in danger, fearing that she could be poisoned and was not feeling safe to be attended by local hospitals because according to her, the institutions had become hostile.

Yesterday, Zambia Police formally charged and arrested Ms Nawakwi, the Forum for Democracy and Development (FDD) leader for the offence of abduction contrary to section 253 and 256 chapter 87 of the Laws of Zambia.

But Ms Nawakwi is accusing President Hakainde Hichilema of orchestrating her arrest over the Hatembos in a bid to fix her for merely working to help them at the time they were under siege.

Ms Nawakwi said the Zambia Police had been under pressure to have her arrested especially that her lawyers had furnished the police officers with valid medical reports that she was not feeling well.

She said this was despite medical doctors having guided she not be distressed and refrain from strenuous activities because she was being treated awaiting a surgical procedure.

“The move to arrest me is clear that the police are under extreme pressure such that when the arresting officers were asked whether it was abnormal for a suspect to tender a medical report, they answered that in fact it was normal. So why is my case so strange that the officers cannot accept a medical report” Ms Nawakwi said.

Ms. Nawakwi said she was scheduled to travel to seek medical attention outside the country but that the State was determined to have her arraigned.

Shw explained that she was travelling because the hospitals in Zambia were very hostile as the police had fished her out from there a hospital bed at one point and her life was at risk, claiming that there was a possibility she could get poisoned.

She confirmed her arrest and alleged that the case she was charged with was a hatched up scheme by the UPND and their leader to try and was their dirt which they created during the run-up to the 2021 elections.

Mr Nawakwi claimed that President Hichilema knew that that if the fraud charge that Feluna Hatembo had complained against him of fraudulently purchasing farm number 1921 was preferred on him, he would not have run for the 2021 election.

Yesterday, Police deputy spokesperson Danny Mwale said Ms Nawakwi had been charged and arrested for abducting the Hatembos.

Mr Mwale said facts of the offence were that the suspect, while acting together with others unknown, was alleged to have forced Feluna Hatembo and Milton Hatembo into confinement against their will at different Lodges in Lusaka after deceiving them that she was going to help them, she asked them to travel to Lusaka from Choma. Mr Mwale said during the time of their confinement, the victims were not allowed to move, communicate with anyone and do anything without her authority.

He said the incident occurred between September 2020 and January 2021 in Lusaka.

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THE Lusaka Magistrates Court has summoned a Drug Enforcement Commission (DEC) officer to explain why she ordered the arrest of businessman Shaderick Kasanda when he was supposed to be appearing in court. The subpoena against the officer, only identified as Ms Chisenga, was issued by Lusaka chief resident magistrate Davies Chibwili. This came to light […]

POLICE in Lusaka have detained a 27-year-old man of Woodlands area in Lusaka in connection with the death of a 21-year-old female student at Levy Mwanawasa Medical University only identified as Chipo. It is alleged that the named student, who was in her third year, went to visit her boyfriend in Woodlands area at unknown […]

…as drama in gold, cash scandal unfolds, Makebi Zulu has claimed Kasanda was snatched by State agents for naming, shaming some State House officials involved in the heist 

By LUCY PHIRI 

SHADRECK Kasanda, one of the 11 suspects in the raging gold and US$5.6 million heist was yesterday allegedly abducted by State agents at the Magistrate Court, just hours before he could appear in court, his lawyer Makebi Zulu has disclosed.

Mr Zulu told journalists at the Magistrate Court that Kasanda had become a targeted victim of the State after he had allegedly named and shamed some State House personnel involved in the now infamous gold and cash scandal. 

Kasanda was allegedly snatched from the Lusaka Magistrate Court holding cells  prompting his attorney to demand the summoning of the officer in charge at Drug enforcement Commission (DEC) to show course why contempt charges should not proffered on him.

Mr Zulu of Makebi Zulu Advocates has since described the abduction of Kasanda by State agents as the highest case of lawlessness on the part of the government.

He said Kasanda was yesterday, at 14:00 hours expected to appear before court by way of a court order but the State in an act reminiscent of mafia conduct moved to abduct his client and took him to some unknown location.  

“Shadreck (Kasanda) has been abducted…I call this abduction because there is a pending warrant, a court order that he should have been in court today (yesterday) at 14:00 hours. There is no way the law enforcement agencies and abduct someone who is supposed to appear before court. Shadreck (Kasanda) is appearing by way of a court order. His abduction…the act of taking him away from holding cells to wherever they have taken him is sheer lawlessness and an act that is surely unbecoming,” Mr Zulu said.  

Mr Zulu said there were attemopts by the State to turn Kasanda testify against himself that he had committed the offence of aggravated robbery so that he could be remanded in custody without bail.

He said the law firm had made an application for bail for Kasanda after the State had put up a certificate to deny the accused bail because according to him, the State was aware of the direction the case was taking hence the abduction of his client.

Mr Zulu stated the State was trying to avoid the court process and that was why it had decided to take Kasanda away from court.

“The State has struggled to explain why Kasanda was not in court. Even when we brought in the custody officer, the Stated objected in an attempt to suggest that they knew something.”

“Let Kasanda be given justice, let the court hear the matter to the fullest. This issue of victimizing him (Kasanda) merely because he managed to tell the State the person who was involved in the gold scandal at State House should not happen. Let everyone in this matter be subjected to the same law. This is not the rule of law and when you disobey court orders, you should be cited for contempt and we are moving to cite them for contempt,” Mr Zulu said. 

The alleged abduction of Kasanda was brought to light after the State Prosecutor Ms Gracilia Mulenga informed the court that one of the six accused persons (Kasanda) was not in court.

Magistrate Mulenga informed the court that she had received information that unidentified law enforcement agency officers had picked Kasanda from the holding cells for questioning on other charges.

This is a case in which Kasanda and his co-accused, including five Egyptians are charged with the offence of espionage which is contrary to section 318 of the laws of Zambia and is triable by the high court.

Mr. Zulu said it was contemptuous for the State to have taken away Kasanda because the court had made an order that the accused person needed to be present.

“The action is contemptuous at this court. The court made an order that the accused person needed to be present. They cannot defy an order. They could have let the proceedings carry on. On the absence of accused number 6, these proceedings cannot continue and that is being defiant of this court. We say that contempt proceedings be issued against whosoever has defied the order of this court to appear and order why they decided to keep the accused away from court,” Mr Zulu submitted.

Mr. Kelvin Kapaso, 46, an inspector at the Lusaka magistrate cells told the court that Kasanda was picked from the holding cells by DEC officers.

“The accused person together with his colleagues with some lawyers came to have their docket signed. A few minutes after a DEC officer came to get Kasanda,” Mr Kapaso submitted.

And chief resident magistrate Davies Chibwili agreed with the defence that the abduction of Kasanda was a clear contempt and the officer in charge should be brought to tell the court what transpired.

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Antipsychotic drugs treat incredibly vulnerable patients. Maintaining a treatment regimen is difficult for many patients, but not taking the medication is associated with a higher risk of poor health outcomes. These drugs are also very powerful with strong side effects, and blood tests are often used to calibrate a patient’s dosage and confirm that they are taking the recommended dose.

Experts recommend avoiding cannabis during adolescence and early adulthood, in people prone to or with mental health disorders, in pregnancy, and before and while driving, based on an in-depth evidence review published by The BMJ today.

Home monitoring of ovulation prior to placing frozen embryos during an IVF process works just as well as hospital checks to determine the best time. In addition, it is more pleasant for women to undergo this in their own environment, and it places less burden on the hospital facilities.

A large private laboratory is still processing finger prick tests for estrogen levels, which are sold by private retailers online, despite warnings they are unreliable, reveals an investigation published by The BMJ.

Cardiovascular disease and dementia frequently occur together in elderly people. Nevertheless, few longitudinal studies have examined how atherosclerosis and its associated risk factors affect brain health from middle age.

A new study suggests boys who smoke in their early teens risk damaging the genes of their future children, increasing their chances of developing asthma, obesity and low lung function.