Party leader, M’membe, accuses Hichilema administration of abusing criminal justice system

Socialist Party (SP) leader, Fred M’membe, has said that the gassing case fiasco, which was before the courts, demonstrates President Hakainde Hichilema’s appetite for tyranny and total abuse of the criminal justice system.

M’membe claimed that on April 29, 2023, Chris Zimba and his co-accused were taken into custody, and a few days later, harshest charges were prescribed against them.

The SP leader in a statement issued in lusaka on Monday alleged that the evil tormentors had no shame but to slam them with terrorism charges.

He claimed that Zimba and three others were kept in custody until December 1, 2023, when Lusaka High Court Judge, Koreen Mwenda rubbished the charges brought before the court, allegedly at the insistence of Hichilema’s men.

“The court’s verdict and the subsequent release of Zimba and his co-accused exposed the lengths to which Hichilema and his corrupt puppet regime will go to destroy their own citizens’ lives through the abuse of the criminal justice system,” M’membe stated.

He wondered whether this was part of the persecution of political opponents Hichilema promised during the last official opening of the National Assembly

M’membe said when it came to muzzling critical voices and protecting their own political and business interests, Hichilema and his administration were people without conscience, empathy, and compassion.

“They’re cold-hearted people who don’t care about their fellow human beings. We said it then, and we are saying it now: there was absolutely no need to torture innocent citizens of this country in this manner,” he stated.

M’membe argued that the whole exercise was unnecessary, and it was not appropriate for the government to proceed against it’s own citizens in this manner.

“Young families were totally grounded to a halt. Deprived of breadwinners and fathers for a period exceeding seven months as Mr Hichilema’s little evil men threw a party!,” he said.

M’membe pointed out that right from the inception of the case was very clear that the decision to arrest Zimba and the three others was carried out in bad faith with the intent to harm and destroy innocent people and families.

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