How has the special assistant for legal affairs, who is making headlines for the wrong reasons, managed to keep his job if his persona is not an extension of that of his boss?
Lusaka – In our article of 5th May, 2022 entitled “Making the fight against corruption the opium of the people of Zambia”, we carried an excerpt from the Late Hon. Tutwa Ngulube’s damaging accusation on his Facebook page that died a natural death.
“Special Assistant for Legal Affairs, Christopher Mundia, recieved K149m in his account using his late father’s law firm. We challenge the ACC and FIC to state what the money was for. This is money obtained using the police who locked up the lawyer handling the matter of foreign teachers and forced the lawyer to withdraw the injunction. If this is not corruption and terrorism what is it? In 8 months you make K149m by threats. The ex Ghanian expatriates are in poverty while the money is with Bally’s lawyer,” read the post.
A year later, the truth finally managed to tie its shoe laces. Allow us, then, to reproduce a news item by Nakaonga Nakalonga that appeared in the 6th March 2023 edition of the News Diggers paper that we believe is the truth that has cost the Inspector General of Police, Mr. Lemmy Kajoba, his job.
◾News Diggers reported…
Inspector General of Police, Lemmy Kajoba, says he suspended criminal investigations involving embezzlement of funds after being told to stop and wait for instructions from President Hakainde Hichilema.
Kajoba claims that the contact person whom the President used to provide guidance on the matter is his legal advisor, Christopher Mundia, but when asked why, as a Service Chief, he did not engage the President to verify the directive, the IG said those were administrative issues which he could not discuss with the media.
Meanwhile, Mundia has expressed shock at the statement from the Inspector General, saying the President has never, either individually or through another person, directed any law enforcement agency to stop a criminal investigation.
This is contained in a report authored and signed by Kajoba dated April 2022 addressed to the Permanent Secretary – ISD at the Ministry of Home Affairs and International Relations, in which he was explaining the findings of a criminal investigation.
Also Read: UPND and its baffling performance! – Chishala Kateka.
◾The Zambian Whistleblower perspective…
In our earlier articles, Special Assistant to the President for Legal Affairs, Christopher Mundia, was referred to as the new Kaizar Zulu at State House, and this, without a doubt, is the current state of affairs.
We will get to this later, but for now, let’s focus on what the IG revealed in a report of April 2022 written to PS Internal Security at the Ministry of Home Affairs.
Kajoba exposed Christopher Mundia for stopping a corruption investigation that had clearly stated his name (Christopher Mundia) as one of the culprits.
He revealed how Mundia instructed that investigations into the misappropriation of $15.5m out of what was paid for the Ghanaian Former Expatriate Teachers Coordinating Committee should be suspended.
In that report, whose details were published by News Diggers, the IG detailed how payments were made to Zambians who were not beneficiaries of the money disbursed in 2021.
And Mundia himself, through his law firm, benefitted from this money to the tune of K1.5m and therefore was a suspect in the investigations.
Would it shock you now to see him being mentioned in the report by the IG that he instructed that the investigations be suspended? You have the answer!
This is the exact behavior we saw at State House during former President Edgar Lungu where the likes of Kaizar abused their offices for their own benefit. And we’re now seeing this same behaviour under President Hakainde Hichilema where, sadly, it is his legal advisor at the forefront of some questionable behaviour.
On this issue of the Ghanaian teachers, he lied that the President had sent him. Such behaviour brings to question the counsel’s integrity, which is at the core of law practice and must be strictly adhered to by every legal practitioner.
Lying is nowhere near what is expected of legal practitioners and anyone who exhibits such behaviour must be subjected to the strict professional ethics enshrined in the Legal Practitioners Rules.
Today, however, he is denying what is contained in the IG’s report. Why would the IG lie in such a professional document he authored detailing the issues around the Ghanaian expat teachers payments?
We know Kajoba is highly professional. And President Hichilema made a good choice for IG and he must be commended on that. In him you find a man who values truth telling. He won’t sweep anything under the carpet, he’s a voice of reason.
But his efforts, and those of President Hichilema, are being derailed by the new Kaizars of the UPND government who are undoing the correct things being done for the benefit of all Zambians.
The earlier such persons are taken out of the system, the better. The Kaizars of now will work to bring down every good effort of those in top leadership. Zambians lose trust whenever ill behavior of officers of the State is
◾Conclusion…
With all these writings on the wall, how has the special assistant for legal affairs, Christopher Mundia, managed to get Lemmy Kajoba fired as Inspector General of Police for telling the truth if his persona is not an extension of that of his boss?
Surely if the decision to fire Lemmy Kajoba was in the best interest of Zambians, we would have witnessed two Ministers being shown the door; Hon. Sylvia Masebo and Hon. Reuben Mtolo for corruption and incompetence, respectively.
Leadership is the ability to identify and put those with the technical know-how and ability in key positions needing such expertise and for as long as President Hakainde Hichilema chooses to downplay leadership, Zambians should expect very little from him in terms of finding solutions to our various social economic development challenges.
©2022 Woodpecker’s Digest Inc.
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SPARE HH AND UPNF THE BLAME
The matter of abuse of funds meant for expatriate teachers has its roots in the PF government. Teachers from Ghana, Uganda, and India who were not paid their gratuity and luggage allowances sued the state and were awarded $ 75 million.
Their consultant, one Mr Eugene Owusu Agyemang, working in collaboration with Raphael Nakachinda, engaged the PF government, who agreed to pay the stranded teachers on condition that $ 25 million is kickback to PF government officials . So, out of about $ 47.5 million paid till date, teachers only received $ 15.million with the rest believed to be used during the campaigns or shared among PF officials and the consultant together with members of the Teachers’ Committee.
Some Ugandan nationals who decided to sue the consultant and the teacher’s committee were arrested and detained and intimidated to withdraw their lawsuit. This later led to investigations by the former inspector General of Police. The investigation was stopped by the police at the intervening Mundia after he was compromised in the matter because he received $1.5 million. A check at Access Bank where the account is being held will reveal the extent of misappropriation and the beneficiaries of this scam.