People’s Party president Mike Mulongoti Director of Public Prosecution Lillian Siyunyi must resign because she is worryingly biased.

In a statement yesterday, Mulongoti said Siyunyi was deliberately siding with those who blatantly violated and suppressed the rights of innocent Zambians.

“The office of the Director of Public Prosecution (DPP) is worryingly biased and operating like an extended wing of State House as evidenced by the manner in which they have handled cases involving opposition political leaders. We strongly agree with ADD President, Charles Milupi, that the current DPP needs to resign from this highly respected office due to the glaring lack of professionalism being exhibited under her watch,” Mulongoti said.

“It’s important that the nation realizes that the DPP is doing a disservice to the general citizenry by allowing such a noble office to be used as a conduit to incarcerate innocent people merely because they support the opposition party. The current DPP, has elected to be on the wrong side of history by deliberately siding with those who blatantly violate and suppress the rights of innocent Zambians.”

Mulongoti wondered why Siyunyi did not appeal Agriculture Minister Dora Siliya’s acquittal.

“When former republican president Rupiah Banda was acquitted by the courts, the DPP didn’t appeal the judgment. This is despite the obvious evidence of malpractices under his reign. It’s not a hidden secret that Rupiah Banda was very instrumental in Edgar Lungu’s re-election bid. As a matter of fact, the State entered a consent Judgement in the Rupiah Banda case. The question is who gave the directive that the state enters a consent Judgment so as to set Rupiah Banda free?” asked Mulongoti.

“Further still, the DPP didn’t appeal Dora Siliya’s foggy acquittal. They played a blind eye to this case without fully exhausting the available channels. Dora Siliya consequently is now a full cabinet minister in the Patriotic Front (PF) government. There is no prize for guessing why the DPP didn’t appeal her acquittal.”

He also said a day would come when someone would have to tell the nation who ordered Rupiah’s acquittal.

“Rupiah Banda canvassed the country with Edgar Lungu during the campaign period. It wouldn’t be strange for one to conclude that Banda’s questionable Consent Judgment was a token of appreciation from the powers that be for the role he played in ensuring that Lungu went to State House in 2015. I should make mention here that one day someone will have to tell the nation where that directive came from because such a directive can only come from the President or the National Assembly Speaker. More still, this consent Judgment was presided over by just a single Judge; Anne Sitali. This is the same Judge who was at the epicenter of the controversy that surrounded the Constitutional Court presidential petition hearing,” Mulongoti stated.

He said that the levels of patronage and politicization witnessed under the current DPP were unprecedented.

“The levels of patronage and politicization we are witnessing under the current DPP are unprecedented. It’s evidently clear that she’s failing to withstand pressure from the authorities and lacks professional judgment. There is need to call a spade a spade. This DPP is overly biased towards the PF and Edgar Lungu. Even Transparency International Zambia (TIZ) questioned this action through a strong statement released to the media. The DPP is clearly not acting in the public interest but in the quest to wrongly appease those that roam the corridors of power. The case of former Lusaka Province Minister and now UPND member, Obvious Mwaliteta, is heart wrenching,” said Mulongoti.

“UPND member and former Tourism Minister, Sylvia Masebo, was recently acquitted on charges of abuse of office by the Lusaka magistrate courts. Before Masebo could even pop a bottle of champagne to celebrate her victory, the DPP filed in documents to appeal her acquittal. This action has surprised many Zambians leading them to believe that there was an invisible political hand pulling strings in the DPP’s office. Very few Zambians have faith in this once very respectful office because its clearly not independent and is being driven by political interest.”