NDC leader Chishimba Kambwili says Frederick Chiluba and Rupiah Banda made President Edgar Lungu believe he can steal and get away with it.

And Kambwili says only a mad person can honor President Lungu with a good governance honorary doctorate.

During the first-ever Frederick Chiluba memorial lecture, Sunday, Judge Phillip Musonda said the removal of Chiluba’s immunity was politically motivated and that there was no basis to slap the former president with corruption charges.

Banda, who is immediate past Head of State, also said he was saddened that some selfish individuals were trying to dent the image of the “father of democracy.

But in an interview, Monday, Kambwili said he did not attend the memorial lecture because he didn’t want to glorify corruption.

“Corruption is corruption. And look at the people who went there, look at the people that were in the forefront of praising Frederick Chiluba. They are all people that have in the past been questioned for being alleged to have committed some kind of corruption or theft-related issues. So for me, I do not celebrate corruption and the Frederick Chiluba cases and the Rupiah Banda cases are the ones that have caused the current president even to be like this because he believes he can steal and get away with it. But I want to tell them that Imbwili ileyisa (Imbwili is coming). There will be no celebration of people that have committed offences. And when they are found guilty, even the pension that we give them must be taken away from them. They must be punished for being corrupt,” Kambwili said.

“That attitude should not be encouraged because we are going to make presidents become corrupt. I did not attend that function because I don’t support corruption, and I don’t make corrupt people become heroes. That’s where we have even lost it when we made two former presidents off the hook for corruption. And that is why even the current one is behaving in the same manner corruptly. It was very unreasonable for people to start praising corruption. It is common knowledge that under Frederick Chiluba’s regime there was corruption and there is absolutely no way that I who is against corruption could have gone to attend that function. And I think it was wrong for a judge to say that because he is a serving judge. Let’s keep corrupt leaders under the hook and they must be prosecuted.”

And Kambwili said only a mad person could honor President Lungu with a good governance honorary doctorate.

“There is no reason to say that it was illegal to prosecute Frederick Chiluba. You know when somebody is accused of corruption, let the courts go and decide. Let’s not be celebration corruption in this country. And that’s why today the University of Zambia can say that they want to confer President Lungu with an Honorary Degree for good governance. What good governance is there about President Edgar Lungu? All there is in President Edgar Lungu is corruption, theft and abuse of state institutions, refusing the opposition to access free democratic space, refusing them to mobilize. Only a mad person who doesn’t think and who does not deserve to live can go and honour President Lungu for good governance,” he said.

Kambwili insisted that President Lungu must start cleaning prisons and police cells because they would be his home once NDC formed government.

“In my opinion, it was unreasonable to celebrate corruption. Whoever has stolen in this government, under Imbwili they will go to prison whether they like it or not. And all they have built will be government property. I can assure you that [because] I am a no nonsense man. When people have been given a responsibility to govern on behalf of the people, it’s not a responsibility to go and steal, it is not a responsibility to become rich at the expense of the poor people. When I come in 2021, just from the High Court or Supreme court to take the oath, they must start preparing themselves,” said Kambwili.

“And for this incumbent, and I have even told them [that] please clean the prisons and the cells because that is where you are going. So that thing of honouring Chiluba, I cannot be part of it. I respect the man as having been former president and obviously for bringing multi-partism but I don’t respect his deeds. I am against his deeds. Imagine where we are today where politics have been commercialized is because of Frederick Chiluba. He brought a system of tulyemo (getting cuts) where if people have to vote for you, you have to give them money. So what is there to celebrate.”