Edgar Lungu has made so much money for himself and his family through dubious means, and is now among the richest Presidents on the continent, says NDC leader Chishimba Kambwili.

And Kambwili says President Lungu should stop taking poor Zambians for fools because he cannot explain his ill-gotten wealth.

The former Roan member of parliament was reacting to President Lungu’s statement in Kabwe, Saturday, where he told a Provincial ruling party conference that it was not a crime to be rich, as that was what everyone longed for.

“It is not being a satanist to be wealthy, it is not being corrupt to be wealthy. Te sambi ukulya bwino, te bu satanist ukwikala bwino. Bonse efyo tu kabila (it is not satanism or a sin to eat well and live in luxury, that is what we all long for). So what I am saying is that we must give jobs and opportunities for people to make money decently and in a lawful manner,” said President Lungu.

But Kambwili advised President Lungu to stop mocking Zambians over his wealth, saying as long as it cannot be explained, then it is stolen.

“I am appealing to my brother President Edgar Lungu [that] let him watch what he says. People are suffering in this country but he has made much money so easily with his friends and people who are close to him, his family [and] then he wants to tell people that being rich is not a crime. It is a crime if you have ill-gotten wealth, wealth that you cannot explain; you are a criminal. And let him choose, there are certain things that this man must avoid talking about. He should not talk about being legitimately wealthy because he is not legitimately wealthy, secondly, he should not talk about corruption because his government is corrupt.

“He was not even embarrassed in Parliament saying ‘we are going to fight corruption’ when he had a minister facing corruption charges seated and listening to him. Where on earth? You see when you start looking at the people that you lead as being stupid, then you have lost it. Yes indeed being rich is not a crime but how you become rich is what matters.”

He wondered why President Lungu had never attempted to explain the multiplication of his money from K2.5 million to K23 million under one year.

“There is no way a person can declare that he is worth 2.5 million [and] one year later he is worth 23 million. That is a crime. So if the man became rich over one year, he should tell us how he became rich? Where did he get the money? What business did he do? How much does he earn per month? That is what we want. So if the man thinks that we are so stupid to see his ill-gotten wealth, he is fooling himself. Why didn’t he become rich when he was not President? Why should he be rich when he is president? Before he was president he was nobody in terms of wealth [but] today he stands out to be one of the richest people in Africa,” charged Kambwili.

He further warned voters to stop believing lies from President Lungu during campaigns.

“What kind of leadership is this where every time you want to fool the people you go to a by-election. You have a by-election in Luanshya [and] you come to tell people [that] ‘no we are going to sort out all your problems after elections’ as if you are cheating children. How many times have we heard those promises? Every time the election is over, they run away. To be rich in the manner president Lungu has become is criminal,” said Kambwili.