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Former President, Edgar Lungu, has leveled accusations against the government, alleging a concerted effort to target him and his family, citing the simultaneous summoning of four family members for questioning by the Drug Enforcement Commission (DEC).
Scheduled for May 30, 2024, the DEC has arranged interviews as follows: “Charles Phiri from 09:30 to 10:30, Chiyeso Lungu from 10:30 to 11:30, Tasila Lungu from 11:30 to 12:30, and former First Lady Esther Lungu from 12:30 to 14:00,” Lungu disclosed.
Lungu asserted that the scheduling was deliberately designed to occupy his family’s entire day at the DEC, with a perceived agenda to intimidate and silence him.
“From plunging us into a hungry nation after selling our hard-earned food reserves and failing to ‘fix the economy’ as passionately promised in 2021, this UPND failed regime is now after me, my family and every citizen,” Lungu said.
Regarding recent arrests, Lungu criticized the political motivations behind the detention of opposition figures, including lawmakers
Police in Lusaka had arrested Christian Democratic Party (CDP) leader, Dr Danny Pule, and Forum for Democracy and Development (FDD) leader, Edith Nawakwi, charging them with seditious practices.
Additionally, Mfuwe lawmakers, Maureen Mabonga, and Lumezi Independent Member of Parliament, Munir Zulu, had been charged with hate speech.
Reacting to the arrests on Wednesday, Lungu said the current political situation in Zambia suggests that the country is completely abandoning the rule of law and moving away from respecting human rights and constitutional democracy.
“On May 25, 2024, we all woke up to a sad development—the abduction and disappearance of Emmanuel Jay Banda, Petauke Central lawmakers.
“When we tried to seek answers and solace from the Zambia Police, the state decided to deploy riot police to throw tear-gas canisters at all of us at Ibex Hill station,” Lungu stated.
He described the police actions at Ibex Station as state brutality against peaceful citizens.
Lungu claimed that the police detained Nawakwi, who was in a sick condition, along with others on politically motivated charges of “hate speech” or “seditious practices against the State.”
“These arrests were orchestrated within two days,” he alleged. Additionally, Lungu mentioned that former Patriotic Front (PF) member, Davies Mwila, was currently appearing before Drug Enforcement Commission (DEC) officers for unknown investigations and may or may not be detained.
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