UPND chief still in Police cells

...as family demand his release

WE demand the immediate release of my uncle since police have failed to charge him almost a week after he was detained, nephew to Sinazongwe District Council chairperson, Alick Muleya, charged yesterday in an interview.

Mr. Muleya, who was picked up early this week to help the police with investigations over the torching of Senior Chief Mweemba’s palace by unidentified people which left one person dead, is still detained at Choma police station without any charge.

Speaking to the Daily Nation yesterday, his nephew, Melvin Mwiinde, demanded his release saying if the police did not have any evidence against him, the best they could do was to release him instead of keeping him in filthy cells for no reason.

Mr. Mwiinde said he expected his uncle to have appeared in court by now if police had any evidence against him and that the lacklustre attitude by those handling the matter was sickening the family as it was in total abrogation of the law.

He explained that his uncle was in Livingstone for some time attending a Government meeting at which he was the guest speaker and wondered how he could have organised people to burn Senior Chief Mweemba’s palace when he was away.

“As a family, we demand that if police have no case against my uncle, they must release him immediately. If they have any leading evidence that may implicate him of being an architect or having participated in the actual burning of the house, let them charge him and take the case to court rather than keeping him in those filthy cells.

“The police should have thoroughly investigated this case before making any detention. The reason behind the detention of my uncle without a charge is that they have no clue. They are working on assumptions. There is no law that supports what the police are doing and that purely borders on unlawful detention. We don’t want to start fighting legal battles with the police after this case is over and all we want is for justice to prevail,” Mr. Mwiinde said.

And narrating his ordeal to the Daily Nation from the police cells yesterday, Mr. Muleya said it was a pity that he was made to spend almost the whole week in the filthy cells all in the name of aiding police with investigations over an issue he had no clue about.

Mr. Muleya accused the police of not being fair in the way they had treated him by purposefully abrogating dictates of the law with regard to the period a person can be held without being charged and taken to court.

“I went to Livingstone on November 27 and came back on December 1. I was attending a meeting where the Southern Province Minister, Dr Edify Hamukale, was supposed to attend but he sent the PS to represent him as guest of honour and I was the guest speaker.

“We were at Fairmount Hotel all those days. I have even produced hard copies of the whole programme which I attended. So, when did I burn the senior chief’s house? I am nowhere near the royal family and so, how do I come in?” Mr. Muleya asked. The royal family believes the arsonists were from the rival group which had been in contention over the throne since 2007 as they have been claiming to be the correct heirs to the throne.