FORMER PF secretary general Davies Mwila says it is unfair that investigative wings are looking into the party’s source of campaign vehicles during the 2021 general elections.

In an interview, Tuesday, Mwila, who was questioned by police on Monday over the same, said the investigation was illegal.

“The problem that is there is that any political party by law, we are not obliged to disclose the source of funding or where we are getting the properties from. We are not obliged and it is unfair for government or security wings to start investigating the source of property or money. That is against the law. You will recall that last year we intended to amend the law so that we allowed all the political parties to disclose the source of funding and UPND objected to that, they rejected that. Now they want to harass and victimize the PF. I think that is being unfair unless they are also investigating the source of funding of the UPND and other political parties,” he said.

“Because UPND has got vehicles, how come they are asking us where we got those vehicles and whom we gave? I think that is being unfair and I thought by calling us to the police is to go and question us how we have stolen the money and not the campaign. Me, I was surprised, I thought that maybe I had stolen a vehicle but surprisingly, to go and hear [them] question me ‘is it you who gave this one a vehicle?’. I think that is being unfair. Some of us, we have other things to do. So if they have failed to find people that have stolen, it is better that they tell the people of Zambia.”

He said UPND had failed to prove that some PF officials had stolen from government.

“Because they have failed to prove that some of the officials have stolen from government, they are now going round using the law that this property that you acquired is suspected to be proceeds of crime. That is abusing the law. If you look at the charge that has been given to Bowman, that is not being fair. Nevertheless, even if we are charged, we will prove to the court how we acquired all those properties. Each one of us must explain how he acquired the property. But not only the PF, what about these Ministers. If the fight against corruption is about PF, then that is being unfair,” said Mwila.

“What we are saying is that they are trying to show the world that surely they mean well in terms of fighting corruption but in actual sense, it is not there. They have been in government, this is the fifth month, what tangible things have they brought out to say that people have stolen? Me, I have not seen. We have the right to source money from anyone because by law, we are allowed. The reason why we wanted to bring in that law where people will be able to bring in the source of funding because we want clean money. The UPND didn’t want that because they are the culprits.”