The Anti-Corruption Commission has summoned former information minister Chishimba Kambwili to for questioning today.
But the NDC leader wondered how the state would summon him to the ACC offices for questioning while at the same time expecting him to appear in court for other charges.
According to a call out issued by an investigations minister F Kombe, Monday, was expected to appear at the ACC Headquarters at 09:30 hours.
“Dr Chishimba Kambwili, you are requested to report yourself to the Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) offices at ACC Headquarters (Anti Corruption House) on 6th March 2018 for the purpose of an interview. Time 09:30 hours. You will not be kept longer than absolutely necessary. NB: Please comply,” read the call out.
But in an interview, Kambwili said his lawyers had asked the ACC to reschedule his appearance as he was expected in court, at the same time, in a matter in which he is charged with forgery and uttering of forged documents.
“I don’t have any idea and tomorrow I am going to court. My lawyers advised me that they told them that we are in court tomorrow,” Kambwili said.
He observed that the PF was just trying to slow him down but they would not succeed.
“They are fishing and they want to intimidate me but I have told them that they can never intimidate me. Imbwili ni mbwili. They are just wasting their time. If they have any matters against me, let’s go to court. It is only the courts that can determine these matters now why issuing call outs all the time without going to court?” Kambwili asked.
“I am not surprised. When these things started, Kaizer Zulu said ‘he will spend most of his time at the police and investigation wings and at the courts until his money is finished’. Even Amos Chanda said the same thing so I am not surprised. They are only fulfilling what their plans are but the people of Zambia know their plans and they are only finishing themselves.”
And Kambwili said it was nonsensical for police to deny him permits for NDC and parliamentary duties when the PF were free to go all over the country to campaign.
“On Saturday I was supposed to address my constituency, I was supposed to have a public rally at a place called Zesco grounds in Mpatamatu. I respected them by notifying them that we are going to have a meeting and they rejected the notification. And to our surprise, by 5 O’clock there was a horde of police officers all over the constituency. Even the road that leads to my house they made a road block, searching people, asking them where they were going and what they were going to do. So now this thing is getting out of hand where a member of parliament cannot be allowed to have a meeting in his constituency and yet them they are having meetings all over. You heard their secretary general [Davies] Mwila was in Muchinga yesterday, the other time he was in North Western, the other time he was in Eastern Province, he was in Central Province, but why are they scared of me having meetings either as NDC or as MP? What should we do? They are just scared,” Kambwili said.
“The whole idea is to intimidate us and slow us down. Can you imagine that just when the PF MPs left Northern Province, Kaputa and Chiengi, we applied for a permit there, they told us there is Cholera. So is Cholera only with NDC? Last week we applied for a permit in Zmabezi, PF just left Zambezi, we were told ‘there are two ministers in North Western Province so we cannot give you a permit when ministers are also in the province’. What kind of nonsense is that?”
Meanwhile, Kambwili charged that Copperbelt Police Commissioner Charity Katanga had watsed tax payers’ money by ordering officers to flood Luanshya to prevent his meeting with constituents.
“So we decided to take the matter of the permit to court and for those officers who are misbehaving, just tell them that their days are numbered, like Katanga, and I was even shocked that she said she wasn’t aware about the presence of police in Luanshya. Then she is incompetent. How can police come from Kamfinsa, Kitwe, Ndola, Masala, Kalulushi and then the provincial commander doesn’t know? Then you can see that the woman is incompetent. What she did was illegal that’s why she said she was not aware about police presence in Luanshya. And she knows that that was a waste of tax payers’ money. Those people were in Luanshya for about 5 O’clock to 19:00 hours. They were paid lunch allowances, they spent money on fuel to ferry them from their respective districts and in full riot gear. We are calling on Katanga to resign on moral ground because she has abused her power too much,” said Kambwili.