ACC HURTING LUNGU

THE Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) is hurting the President by its failure to disclose the names of the people behind the 48 (51) houses when it has these details.

The Daily Nation can reveal that the ACC has details that the plots on which the houses were built belong to among others : Chali Chitala, Susan Sinkala, Charles Loyana and Shikahu Bruce.

The plots were purchased and development commenced in 2013.

What the ACC is failing to tell the nation is that the man of interest in the transaction is Charles Loyana who is a senior accountant: Outstanding Bills, at the Ministry of Finance, who bought and paid for 15 plots in 2013. A lady who shared the same address as Loyani also bought another set of plots on which joint development appeared to have been commenced.

Mr Loyana has apparently gone to ground since the story of the 48 houses broke. When contacted for details of Mr Loyana and his whereabouts, the Ministry of Finance spokesperson referred all queries to the Accountant General whose phone was off by press time.

Tenants interviewed by the Nation confirmed that upon occupation of the properties in 2013, they were paying rentals in cash to the people named by the ACC and that this evidence had been proffered to the commission.

“Our original leases on which we were paying rentals were signed by the same people named by the ACC in the notice. It is surprising therefore why they are now saying that they do not know the owners of the property.” One tenant lamented.

“They are just hurting the President and his Government by perpetuating a myth which they know is totally untrue. The issue in contention should not be the ownership of the property but the source of the money that was used to build the property.” He said.

In April this year the ACC actually published a notice naming the main point of interest for the ACC is Charles Loyana, a source associated with the infamous houses has lamented. The Daily Nation can further confirm that the very names listed in the ACC advertisement also appeared in the government gazette confirming the seizure of the properties.

“It appears the ACC is finding it convenient to allow insinuations to continue but it is very unfair to the President and his family. He confidently told the Daily Nation that President Edgar Lungu’s name and that of his daughter, Tasila were not among the names who bought the plots as speculated in social media, which he described as nonsensical and only meant to embolden the hand of his enemies. There was no way the commission could tell the nation that the owners of the houses in question were unknown when the first suspects were the people who bought the plots on which the houses were built.

“It is unfair on the President for ACC to keep quiet on this matter when his name and that of his daughter are being connected to the houses. They can at least tell the nation that their names are not mentioned anywhere,” he said.

He called on the commission to tell the nation the truth about the prime suspects in the case in order to remove speculation and rumour. “This rumour mongering, this kachepa is not healthy when the ACC have the names of the people who bought the plots from the original title,” he said.