DPP HAS POWER TO PROFFER IMMUNITY
ITis amazing that President Hakainde Hichilema can be made to make an extremely inac curate statement regarding the granting of immunity or agreement not to prosecute.
The false statement that in Zambia no agreements not to prosecute are ever entered into shows a deliberate amnesia on the part of the President and his “men.”
These agreements or indem nity agreements have a long public history.
Every Zambian knows that the late Mundia Sikatana was given indemnity against prosecution in the Shamwana Treason Case. This fact was widely covered even in the in ternational press.
Another case widely covered in both the local and interna tional press is that of former Chief Justice Mathew Wataba Ngulube who entered into an agreement with the then DPP not to face charges arising from his getting money from President Chiluba’s Zamtrop
account.
Let us not forget the Rajan Mahtani forgery allegation matter where Mahtani was given immunity over disputed share transfer certificates.
There was an attempt to pri vately prosecute Mr. Mahtani. Mr. Mahtani went to challenge the proposed prosecution in the High Court.
The court ruled that Mr Mahtani could not be
prosecuted because he had been given indemnity. The court, in the case of Rajan Mahtani v The Attorney General 2015/HP/942, there fore recognised the power of the DPP to enter into such in demnity arrangements.
The advisors of the President had a duty to bring this to his attention rather than exposing him to possible public ridicule for making a misinformed statement.
Such lapses by his aides and advisors will bring the Presidency into disrepute. He should sanction whoever mis led him and exposed a totally inadequate team surround ing the Presidency. What is even more worrying is that the agreement protecting the former Chief Justice Mathew Ngulube was drawn by the law firm Malambo and Co. The two partners in Malambo and Co are Justice Minister Mulambo Haimbe and Judicial Complaints Commission Chair Vincent Malambo SC.
Shouldn’t Mr Haimbe resign for making what he clearly knew was a false statement? Shouldn’t his partner, Mr Vincent Malambo declare in terest and not sit on the panel looking at the DPP’s case?
Shouldn’t President Hichilema bring this farcical persecution of the DPP to an end? GPZ, Our People First. SILAVWE JACKSON, President.
Golden Party of Zambia.