‘FIC INSPIRED PROTESTS FUNDED’
THERE is growing agitation among students funded by disgruntled elements to cause public protests over the recently released Financial Intelligence Centre (FIC) report.
And now the FIC has been challenged to release names of the people it has cited in its 2018 Trends Report failure to which Edward Mumbi will sue the institution.
Mr Mumbi, a development activist, yesterday said it was wrong for the FIC to drag the country to the brink of chaos and civil unrest over a faceless report which did not identify any culprits.
“As a senior citizen who has worked for Zamtel as senior engineer for 25 years and one who has served both the PF and UPND [United Party for National Development] at
senior party level, I am challenging the FIC to name the people cited in their report, and if they fail to do so I am taking them to court,” Mr Mumbi said.
He said it was unwise for the FIC to hold the country to ransom with its vague, baseless and speculative report by portraying imaginary grand corruption which has the potential to tarnish the country’s image. Mr Mumbi said the poison in the FIC report was too much to stomach and wondered where its management and board of directors found the courage to cite and label some people as “criminals”.
He said by law, no one was allowed to call anyone a criminal because every suspect was treated as innocent until proved guilty and that only the courts had the power to find anyone guilty of an offence.
He said the “hide and seek” game the FIC was playing had the potential to plunge the country into chaos.
“The game that the FIC executive and board are playing is very dangerous for the nation. They cannot call the people they have failed to even name in their suspicious and speculative report which they have released as criminals,” Mr Mumbi said.