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By NATION REPORTER 

THE UPND has regretted the attacks and verbal abuse former President Edgar Lungu suffered at the hands of the ruling party cadres when he attended the Malaila Traditional Ceremony of the Kunda people in Mambwe and has unreservedly apologised to the former head of State.

Mr Mweetwa has admitted that former President Lungu was attacked and says the ruling party leadership is deeply sorry for the misconduct by individuals whom he said represented themselves as UPND cadres despite not having the blessings of the party.

Mr Mweetwa said the UPND should be blamed for the unruly conduct of its cadres, stating: “We cannot blame anyone but us over their actions because the buck stops at us.

Confusion reigned at the Malaila Traditional ceremony in Mambwe on Saturday after disruptive UPND cadres got helter-skelter, harassing Zambia’s six President Edgar Lungu, broke chairs, tables and harangued onlookers in an attempt to eject him from the ceremony arena.

Like phantoms, the UPND cadres emerged from the shadows soon after the former President arrived the arena of the Malaila ceremony, shouting invectives and demanding that the former head of State should leave the traditional ceremony.

Inspector General of Police Graphael Musamba when contacted about the attacks on former President Lungu described the assertions as nothing but an exaggerated rumour, while Eastern Province Minister Peter Phiri confirmed the attacked but claimed it was done by some unknown angry youths.

But yesterday, Mr Mweetwa during a press briefing said that he had received a call from one of the individuals from Malambo who informed him that the attack on former President Lungu was some revenge for what President Hakainde Hichilema had gone through while in opposition.

He however said President Hichilema had forgiven former President Lungu for all the violence committed by the Patriotic Front (PF) while it was in power.

“HH (President Hichilema) has forgiven President Lungu for the atrocities committed to him personally and has said it is time to open a new page and forge ahead. The acts were uncalled for and the actions did not have the blessings from President Hakainde Hichilema and the party structures at large. We want to unreservedly apologise for the misconduct by some suspected cadres,” Mr Mwetwa said. Mr Mweetwa said the behaviour was not in conformity with what the party represented and that people were still drunk with power and should be forgiven.

He said whether the cadres were genuine UPND cadres or were sponsored, the ruling party would not condone lawlessness.

Mr Mweetwa said President Hichilema had been categorical and did not condone hooliganism and that anyone found wanting would face the law.

And Mr Mweetwa denied allegations that the UPND was using the police to muzzle and stifle operations of the opposition.

Mr Mweetwa said the party had worked so hard for too long to get into power and that they would not allow institutions like the police to decampaign them.

He said that he was a police officer and that he was aware that police officers had a habit of trying to appease the government of the day but this was not the way to go. 

And Mr Mweetwa has attributed the escalation of mealie meal prices in the country to what he termed huge demand of the commodity in the region.

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By GRACE CHAILE

MAKEBI Zulu Advocates has asked the State to immediately withdraw criminal charges against Shadrick Kasanda Kapasa, one of the suspects arrested in the country’s now infamous gold and cash scandal or the law firm shall commence court proceedings which would lead to the name and shame of State House personnel involved.

The law firm representing Mr Kasanda is demanding the withdrawal of the criminal charges and discontinuance of the matter, failure to which, it would have no choice but to take legal action that would require full disclosure of information about known State House personnel behind the goldgate scandal. 

The law firm is contending that the actions by the State, in criminally pursuing Mr Kasanda were but an illegality by reason of Section 43 (1) (2) of The Public Interest Disclosure (Protection of Whistle-blowers) Act.

It has accused the State of attempting to use Mr Kasanda as a scapegoat when individuals behind the said gold and cash scandal were well known, with some being from State House.

“In view of the State’s actions to proceed to charge and arrest our client in breach of the cited law to the exclusion of named persons behind the whole ordeal, who include known personnel at State House, who after the ordeal accompanied the Republican President to Angola and despite having returned, have not been availed for questioning  nor arrested, it is our demand that the State drops the charges forthwith and releases our client from the unlawful detention, failing which, we shall be left with no option but to commence proceedings for appropriate remedies, which action shall contain full disclosure of the information,” the firm  stated.

This is according to a letter dated August 23, 2023, addressed to the Attorney General by Makebi Zulu Advocates on behalf of Mr Kasanda, who is being held at Lusaka Central Police Station.

Mr Kasanda, a Lusaka businessman, Mahogany Air Chief Executive Officer Dr Jim Belemu, Oswald Diangamo and commercial pilot Patrick Kawanu are the four Zambians arrested in connection with the raging gold scandal, while the other nine are foreign nationals.

The four are charged with the offence of disposal of property suspected of being proceeds of crime contrary to Section 71(1) of the Forfeiture of Proceeds Crime Act no.19 of 2010. 

Makebi Zulu Advocates said Mr Kasanda was being treated as a criminal and not a whistle-blower.

The law firm said its client, having availed the State with protected disclosure in good faith ought to have been treated as a State witness and should never have been subjected to the public humiliation and victimisation he had gone through in an attempt to make him a scapegoat.

The law firm said the comments over the scandal by President Hakainde Hichilema during his press briefing at State House on August 18, 2023, were prejudicial to Mr Kasanda of being able to have a fair trial before any court in Zambia.

“Our client’s rights to a fair trial and to be presumed innocent as guaranteed by Article 18(1) and 18(20(a) of the Constitution have been threatened by the President’s comments, who had breached the stated provisions. Our client is entitled to a fair trial and to be presumed innocent as guaranteed in the Constitution,” Makebi Zulu Advocates stated in the letter.

DEC seized the Global Express 7T-WSS aircraft which was carrying various items including about $5.7 million, five pistols, seven magazines, 126 rounds of ammunition and 602 pieces of suspected gold.

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By BUUMBA CHIMBULU

CONSUMERS should expect interest rates on all loans linked to the Monetary Policy Rate to be adjusted upwards following the decision by the Bank of Zambia (BoZ) to raise the benchmark of lending money to financial institutions to 10 percent.

The Central Bank has raised the policy rate by 50 basis points from the previous 9.5 percent.

Raising the monetary policy rate by the Central Bank has been driven by the continued escalation of the inflation rate which currently stands at 10.3 percent.

This decision means that financial institutions will also have to adjust upwards all loans linked to the Monetary Policy Rate which have been accessed by some consumers.

In the second quarter of 2023, interest rates rose broadly in line with the upward adjustment in the Monetary Policy Rate in May 2023.

After declining for six consecutive quarters, inflation rose in the second quarter of 2023 to an average of 9.9 percent from 9.6 percent in the first quarter of 2023, moving away from the six to eight percent target band.

Denny Kalyalya, Governor of the Central Bank is worried that if inflation was left unchecked, it would undermine the gains already made in restoring macroeconomic stability.

He, therefore, explained that the decision was informed by the movement of current and projected inflation away from the six to eight percent target band and the need to contain inflation expectations.

Dr Kalyalya at a media briefing to announce the new benchmark in Lusaka yesterday said the Monetary Policy Committee also considered financial sector stability and sluggish growth in its decision.

“Inflationary pressures are expected to persist over the forecast horizon with inflation projected to remain above the 6-8 percent target band. 

“In 2023, inflation is projected to average 10.2 percent, marginally lower than the 10.3 percent in the May forecast,” he said.

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AN unrepentant inmate has been arrested and taken to court for allegedly breaking into West Wood Police Station exhibit room where he stole transformer components’ exhibits valued at K60, 000. Frederick Yoba, who is from Mwembeshi Air Prison, allegedly broke into the government building between July 28 and 31 this year and went away with […]

Using a defibrillator for a cardiac arrest victim improves 30-day survival even with ambulance response times as short as two minutes, according to research presented at ESC Congress 2023.

Feeling safe from crime is associated with a 9% lower risk of premature death and 6% lower likelihood of a heart attack, according to a study in more than 35,000 adults presented at ESC Congress 2023.

ANTI-Corruption Commission (ACC) board chairperson Musa Mwenye says lifestyle Audits should be intensified by law enforcement agencies. Mr Mwenye also said that the declaration of assets should be extended to specified top public officials. The ACC writes posted on Facebook that Mr Mwenye said doing so will intensify the fight against corruption. He said this […]

THE Bank of Zambia (BOZ) has raised the Monetary Policy Rate to 10.0 percent from 9.5 percent. The decision is attributed to the movement of current and projected inflation away from the 6-8 percent target band and the need to contain inflation expectations. Bank of Zambia Governor Dr Denny Kalyalya said the move is in […]

The early physical and mental development of a child sets the stage for lifelong progress and fulfillment. Spending quality time with their parents can bring out significant positive changes among children during their formative years.

It’s notoriously difficult for doctors to identify a wound that is becoming infected. Clinical signs and symptoms are imprecise and methods of identifying bacteria can be time-consuming and inaccessible, so a diagnosis can be subjective and dependent on clinician experience. But infection can stall healing or spread into the body if it isn’t treated quickly, putting a patient’s health in grave danger. An international team of scientists and clinicians thinks they have the solution: a device run from a smartphone or tablet app, which allows advanced imaging of a wound to identify infection.