Posts in category: Uncategorized

…as Power aim to dim African Stars while Muza date Cono Sports

By MICHAEL MIYOBA 

POWER Dynamo’s quest to reclaim Zambia’s four slots in the CAF interclub championship takes off today when the Zambian champions face African Stars of Namibia in the first leg preliminary round of the CAF Champions League. 

Power face the Namibian champions who are using Sobsonvile Stadium in Johannesburg, South Africa as their home venue. 

Power Dynamos coach Mwenya Chipepo will be determined to rewrite history with the Kitwe giants who he helped win the domestic league after 12 long years of Super League title drought. 

Chipepo has a tough challenge to break Power Dynamos’ record of 1999 when the side won the African Winners’ Cup, renamed the CAF Confederations Cup.

Chipepo believes his lads are ready to carry the Zambian flag high to make the country proud. 

He has named a competitive squad led by captain Godfrey Ngwenya, goal keeper Lawrence Mulenga and lethal top man Andy Boyeli, the Congolese international who won the top scorers’ award as they won the domestic league title and qualify for the continental championship.

Chipepo is confident the Kitwe outfit will pick a positive result in South Africa before finishing the job in the return fixture which will be played at Levy Mwanawasa Stadium in Ndola. 

Meanwhile, F.C. Muza head coach, Mathews Ndhlovu has declared his lads’ game for today’s clash with Cono Sport in the first preliminary round first leg fixture in Equatorial Guinea. 

Ndlovu took over from Lameck Banda who led Muza to a second-place finish during the 2022/23 FAZ Super League race but left the team following failure to reach an agreement over a new contract. 

Ndlovu had unveiled a 24-man squad for the CAF Confederation Cup engagement in Equatorial Guinea.

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By NATION REPORTER

PRESIDENT Hakainde Hichilema has cautioned against the culture of fixing each other among public servants by accusing one another of corruption for political reasons.

President Hichilema says the fight against corruption should never be politicized and is inviting opposition political party leaders to join his crusade against graft.

Addressing journalists at State House yesterday, President Hichilema expressed concern that civil servants were destroying each other reputations by smearing each other with corruption allegations.

He said the culture should be discouraged because it was not only destroying those who were being accused but society as a whole.

President Hichilema said crime should completely be separated from politics and urged Zambians to refrain from politicizing everything including the fight against graft.

“We need to fight illegalities and that is why we need to fight corruption. Crime must be separated from politics and let us not politiicise everything. On a crime, we smear corruption around it and then we lose direction. You take advantage of the gold scandal and say let me rub…smear X with the smell of corruption or crime.”

“You say let me name call someone for political reasons…let me name call someone who is my political opponent. Among the law enforcement agencies, you have the gold scandal, you say this is my chance to fix my fellow director and you send a text message that there are many involved and I have evidence. Let us not do that. It is nice to say check that line unlike I have evidence,” President Hichilema said.

President Hichilema advised against the culture of destroying each other for political reasons, cautioning that those in the habit of politically scandalizing others should know that they were creating a spiral of others to set them up.

President Hichilema said it was important for citizens and public servants to work as a team in the fight against  corruption instead of using the graft fight to settle political scores.

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…for being in possession of properties believed to be proceeds of crime

By MUKWIMA CHILALA 

THREE Zambians, Jim Belemu, Osward Diangamo and Shadreck Kasanda, the suspects in the unfolding gold scandal that has kept Zambians intrigued have been charged with the offence of being in possession of property believed to be proceeds of crime.

And Martha Mushipe, the Lusaka lawyer representing Dr Belemu told journalists yesterday that the matter could not proceed because the indictment was defective as the other accused persons were not appearing.

Dr Belemu, Mr Diangamo and Mr Kasanda, all business executives were arrested by the Joint Investigation Team (JIT) at different times and have been slapped with the offence of possession of property suspected to be proceeds of crime.

Dr Belemu, Mr Kasanda and Mr Diangamo along with their co-accused, Patrick Kawanu a pilot appeared before the Financial Crimes Court yesterday to answer to charges of being in possession of properties believed to be proceeds of crime.

The quartet were expected to appear before court along with nine foreign nationals who have been detained in connection with the KKIA gold scandal that is rocking the nation.

When the matter came up for possible plea, state prosecutor Gracelier Mulenga informed the court that only four Zambians were present in court while nine foreigners were not. 

The arrest of Diangamo was reported to have caused panic among the investigative wings after it was learnt that he should not have been arrested because of his alleged close connections to people with strong political influence.

But yesterday, at a press conference at State House, President Hakainde Hichilema said it did not matter who was involved in the airport gold scandal, his government would enforce the rule of law in its entirety because no one was above the law.

The JIT on Thursday raided Kasanda’s property in Lusaka’s Ibex Hill where a search was conducted in connection to the Kenneth Kaunda International Airport (KKIA) botched gold scandal.

Kasanda is among the Zambian suspects who have been detained along with foreign nationals by the Drug Enforcement Commission (DEC) in connection with the KKIA US$5 million and Gold scandal.

Mulenga said the nine foreigners have not yet been formally charged.

The four accused persons appeared before Chief Resident Magistrate Davies Chibwili for allocation and he allocated the matter to himself.

Kasanda and his co- accused where arrested in connection with a foiled gold scam involving US$5.7 million which was intercepted by the DEC at Kenneth Kaunda International Airport on Monday. 

It seized the Global Express T7-WSS on which the items were found and another aircraft belonging to a local airline whose make is King Air B190. 

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Think about being in a conversation with your best friend or partner. How often do you finish each other’s words and sentences? How do you know what they are going to say before they have said it? We like to think it is romantic intuition, but it’s just down to how the human brain works.

…warns those involved, including government officials, State House staff that once the long arm of the law catches up with them, they will be on their own

ByNATION REPORTER

THE gold and money scandal that took place at the Kenneth Kaunda International Airport (KKIA) was purely a criminal act and all those involved, irrespective of their status whether at State House, government or foreign national will have to face the full wrath of the law, President Hakainde Hichilema has said.

And President Hichilema said he will ensure that all the questions that remained unanswered about the gold saga that transpired at the Kenneth Kaunda International Airport (KKIA) were brought to the table.

President Hichilema said the incident and its attendant location was nothing but a criminal act as it would have been and has commended the Drug Enforcement Commission (DEC) and other law enforcement agencies for bungling what would have been Zambia’s most embarrassing criminal undertaking ever.

Commenting on the raging gold scandal at State House yesterday, President Hichilema said it did not matter what challenges his government was facing but was determined to enforce the rule of law because without it, governing the country would be difficult.

“Let me refer to the airport (KKIA) saga. I must admit we created a gap in providing information but we do not want to leave room for a vacuum because it leads to innuendos. The incident at the airport and the attendant location was as crime would be. The crime took place on the Zambian soil purely as a criminal act and crimes will always be there where there are human beings.

“There will be crimes in the country but the question is how do we address the crime? Today, I want to emphasise that it does not matter which challenges stand in our way, we will enforce the law. It does not matter who is involved, this government (UPND government) will enforce the rule of law in its entirety. No one is above the law, once the law is transgressed, it triggers other processes and when that happens, we must not call it different names,” President Hichilema said.

President Hichilema has appealed to opposition political party leaders not to politicise the fight against corruption, stating that there was a possibility that the country would lose its focus on the real fight against graft.

He said all those who would engage in criminality irrespective of their status or nationality should know that Zambia was not a haven of criminals but a bastion of economic investment.  

“You engage in criminal activities, know that you are on your own. This President (Hichilema) will not tire. This government will not accommodate negative vices. In fighting corruption and criminality, we must not commit crimes and if anyone is found culpable, you are on your own. You cannot hide behind a political party. When you transgress, another law will be triggered and do not cry victim. What happened at the airport was a crime and it is good the scandal was exposed,” President Hichilema said.

And President Hichilema said there were questions about who had authorised the plane that was involved in the Gold saga to touch down at the KKIA runway and the people in yellow jackets who went to the plane that needed to be answered.

“We need to know those people who went on the runway with yellow jackets, where they work and what systems were used to facilitate what transpired,” he said.

He said he was told that there were a bit of negotiations for a while at KKIA but he was not going to dwell on it.

Mr Hichilema said what happened at KKIA indicated that there was a failure of supervision institutionally and they shall check which person was responsible for what happened.

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SOME of the 13 suspects apprehended in connection with the trending ‘gold scam’ are reported to have fallen sick and are seeking medical attention. Only four of the 13 appeared in court yesterday in connection with charges, among them corruption related. Lusaka businessman Shadreck Kasanda was among the four suspects who appeared in court yesterday […]

By tracking COVID-19 patients, doctors in Europe are in search of treatments for a lingering sickness that is both debilitating and puzzling.

By PRISCA LUMINGU in Mambwe

THE Kunda people of Mambwe have paid homage to their ancestors to symbolize the readiness of the Kunda Malaila traditional ceremony which is taking place today. 

The homage, which was led by Chief Mnkhanya together with Chieftaines Msoro, Chief Malama and Chief Jumbe took place at the royal gravesite of the departed senior chiefs in Nsefu Chiefdom.

In paying reverence, the traditional leadership performed rituals at the graveyard in honor of their ancestors.

Some of the rituals performed were pouring of traditional beer and adding of mealie meal at the royal departed senior chiefs tombstones.

And speaking after performing the homage, Chief Malama said the Kunda people pay homage to the departed chiefs so that they can continue to rest in peace. 

“We pay homage so that those who died can continue to rest in peace and we also ask God through the ancestors to address the some challenges faced by the kingdom,” Chief Malama said.

He also explained that there was nothing evil about paying homage to the departed royal highnesses as the practice was started by the forefathers.

Chief Malama also said it is important for Zambia to continue to preserving its culture no matter how modernised the world is becoming.

“We hear people saying what we are doing is wrong and evil. We have been doing this for years and we are not going to stop,” Chief Malama said.

 The Kunda Malaila ceremony is held to honor past chiefs.

And Minister of Water Development and Sanitation Mike Mposha who was part of the procession said culture and heritage must always be preserved for the younger generation.

“The importance of coming to the graveyard where our various chiefs who ruled the various chiefdoms is to ignite the fact that we are continuing with the works they taught us and to use this to teach our children that this is a very important practice so that as they grow they pick up from the elders,” Mr Mposha said

And Eastern Province Minister Peter Phiri said the Kunda Malaila traditional ceremony is significant in Mambwe District as it attracts tourists.

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INJURED sprinter Muzala Samukonga has promised to come back stronger after being forced to withdraw from the World Athletics Championships due to injury. Samukonga will not be taking part in the World Athletics Championships as he will not heal in time for the games that begin in Budapest, Hungary today. Samukonga sustained the injury during […]

By SHARON ZULU

ZAMBIAN Empowerment Hub for Entrepreneurship and Skills Training (ZEHEST) has urged Government to revive industries that have collapsed and to establish new ones as a solution to the high unemployment levels in the country.

ZEHEST Executive Director, Clarence Muzyamba said the country had many industries during first President Kenneth Kaunda’s era, which unfortunately were no longer operational while many others had become white elephants.

In an interview with Millennium TV, Mr Muzyamba said while Government efforts in the  recruitment of  health workers, teachers and defence forces is  appreciated , skills training  for youths without any professional skills would be more commendable.

“We are urging Government to revamp, create manufacturing and many other development industries so that unemployed youths can find jobs. Our call is for more industries to be created where these youths can be kept busy in a productive way so that in turn, they help raise our country’s Growth Domestic Product (GDP),” Mr Muzyamba said

He added that there must be more people working in both private and public sectors for the country to develop.

Mr Muzyamba   called on government to work around policies that would promote entrepreneurship.

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