Registrar of Societies, Mhende, not fired but reassigned —Govt

Home Affairs and Internal Security Minister, Jack Mwiimbu, has said that the Registrar of Societies, Thandiwe Mhende, has not been fired but simply reassigned contrary to information circulating in the media.

Mwiimbu said that in the past Permanent Secretaries and other senior government officials had been transfered to carry out other duties at the Cabinet Office and there was nothing sinister about this decision.

Responding to the rumoured dismissal of Mhende and purported Patriotic Front Office Bearers list at a media briefing in Lusaka, Mwiimbu said government had authority to reassign any civil servant.

He stated that every civil servant was subject to instructions and that non of them had a permanent job because they could be reassigned as government deems it fit.

“The media was awash with headlines that the Registrar of Societies has been fired, that is not true, when you are fired, you are dismissed, the letter is very clear, it is reassignment to Cabinet Office,” Mwiimbu clarified.

He further claimed that the list of opposition Patriotic Front (PF) office bearers allegedly from the Registrar of Societies was flawed.

Mwiimbu indicated that the letter was false as it showed that former president Edgar Lungu was party President as far back as 2002 when he was still a member of the United Party for National Development (UPND).

“Please members of the public, you are all aware that during that time the leader of the Patriotic Front was non other than Michael Chilufya Sata and during that time Edgar Lungu was still our member,” he said.

Mwiimbu went on to highlight that some of the members on the list died even before Sata died and this should make the members of the public to be weary of the document.

He said there was no court order requesting the Registrar of Societies but a Subpoena to appear before the courts of law in the case involving Matero Member of Parliament Miles Sampa which was given to that office.