THE Drug Enforcement Commission (DEC) has asked the Lusaka High Court to dismiss a matter in which the Patriotic Front, through its former secretary general Davies Mwila, sued the state claiming damages over the alleged intimidation and harassment of its members.

The commission has submitted that investigative authorities should be allowed to carry out their statutory duties without being curtailed by frivolous civil proceedings such as the one before court.

This is the matter in which the Patriotic Front, through Mwila, sued the state seeking a declaration that the source of its campaign funds was not money laundering.

PF is seeking a declaratory order declaring that the party cannot be compelled to disclose its source of funds used in the 2021 general elections as well as a declaration that the funding of the 2021 general elections is not money laundering.

The party is further claiming damages for intimidating and harassing its members, damages for misrepresentation and defamation of character as well as damages for discrimination.

Mwila cited the Attorney General as the defendant.

But according to a notice of motion to dismiss the action on a point of law, the state wants the court to determine whether the action was an attempt to circumvent the commission’s statutory authority to conduct criminal investigations relating to among other things, allegations of money laundering against members of the public through the use of civil proceedings.

And in an affidavit in support, DEC investigations officer in the Anti-Money Laundering Investigations Unit Highton Chilela argued that the issues that Mwila wants the court to determine are merely an attempt to curtail the ongoing criminal investigations involving some PF members through the institution of the current civil proceedings.

“A perusal of the statement of claim clearly demonstrates that the plaintiff is attempting to impugn the Commission’s statutory authority to conduct criminal investigations relating, inter alia, to allegations of money laundering against members of the public.
The said criminal investigations are ongoing and the plaintiff is in total disregard of the law and procedure by deliberately and wrongfully disclosing information that relates to such investigations in the guise of civil proceedings. The issues that the plaintiff calls this court to determine are merely an attempt to curtail the ongoing criminal investigations, which investigations involve some PF party members, through the institution of the current civil proceedings before this honourable court,” he stated.

“The plaintiffs pleading cannot be sustained by this court as it is otherwise an abuse of court process. We verily believe in the interest of justice and public policy to allow investigative authorities to carry out their statutory duties without being curtailed by frivolous civil proceedings such as the one before this honourable court.”

According to a statement of claim filed in the Lusaka High Court, Mwila explained that sometime in September last year, officers from the DEC anti-money laundering unit summoned him and questioned him on the source of campaign funds used in the 2021 general elections, and the officers linked the funds to money laundering.

Mwila added that the anti-money laundering unit also summoned the party’s former media director, Mwanza, who was also questioned on the party’s source of campaign funds.

He stated that DEC has continued to exert pressure on the party’s junior functionaries to disclose the source of funding for its campaign activities.

Mwila further stated that on September 22, officers under the unit summoned Teddy Mambepa, an officer of the party for interrogation and the subject of the interrogation was the source of the party’s funds used in the 2021 general elections.

“The plaintiffs will aver that the defendant has continued to threaten the existence of the plaintiff including its members and the members are being threatened with prosecution if they do not disclose the source of campaign funds,” he stated.

Mwila submitted that out of the 16 political parties which participated in the 2021 general elections, only the PF had been singled out and targeted by the DEC.

He added that the discriminatory attack on the party had instilled fear in the minds of its members.