The Police might remove Zgambo from the public eye for a while, but as the saying goes, you can’t lock up the truth. Hichilema’s real concern should be how long before the house of cards comes tumbling down!
Lusaka, Oct. 17 – Police in Lusaka have picked up investigative journalist and chief consultant of the Zambian Whistleblower, Thomas Allan Zgambo, for undisclosed reasons. Thomas Allan Zgambo’s arrest from Lewanika Mall, where he was enjoying a meal, feels like a scene from a movie. One minute he’s minding his business, and the next, he’s bundled into a police van and thrown into Ridgeway Police Post to spend the night.
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His crime seems to be nothing more than wielding his pen against the mighty. According to a police officer who spoke anonymously, Zgambo’s latest article, which criticized the President’s legal advisor, Christopher Mundia, was enough to get him into this mess. But can arresting him silence the truth?
Zgambo’s scathing article paints Mundia as a menace to Zambia’s peace and security, drawing parallels between Mundia and his late father, whose questionable dealings led to a tribunal investigation during Kenneth Kaunda’s reign. Zgambo’s allegations accuse Mundia of single-handedly dismantling key legal institutions and reshaping Zambia’s legal landscape to fit his own agenda. If his article is to be believed, Mundia is running the show, even more than the President himself.
According to Zgambo, the Attorney General’s office is a shadow of its former self, thanks to Mundia’s strategic maneuvering. Senior officials, Zgambo says, were pushed aside to make way for Mundia’s inner circle, even embedding his own spouse in a key role. The Attorney General, Mulilo Kabesha, now has as much bite as a toothless lion in this jungle of legal manipulation. If that’s not enough, Mundia is also credited with handpicking magistrates and judges who are all too willing to dance to his tune, executing Hichilema’s political agenda through the Constitutional Court.
But Zgambo’s accusations don’t stop there. He claims even the Defense and security heads fear Mundia’s rising influence. Sources close to Zgambo have echoed his concerns, questioning how a single legal advisor could wield so much unchecked power. According to him, this isn’t just about law and order – it’s about the very fabric of Zambia’s national security. When the fox is guarding the henhouse, how long before disaster strikes?
Zgambo’s article suggests that some of the Constitutional Court judges are starting to grow uneasy with Mundia’s machinations, particularly when it comes to the high-profile eligibility case of former President Edgar Lungu. In a rare act of defiance, the judges have adjourned the case, hoping that this two-month window will give Hichilema a chance to reconsider his heavy-handed manipulation of the judiciary. But will he? Or has Mundia’s grip on the system become too tight to loosen?
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The heart of Zgambo’s argument is that Mundia is the mastermind behind a political witch hunt against opposition leaders, journalists, civil rights activists, and even clergy. His name reads like a hit list: Brebner Changala, Edith Nawakwi, Munir Zulu, Maureen Mabonga, Fred Mmembe, Emmanuel Mwamba, Thomas Allan Zgambo himself and others – Mundia has allegedly handpicked the magistrates who are tasked with convicting these individuals at any cost.
And to make matters worse, Zgambo claims these cases are conveniently assigned to magistrates and prosecutors from Mundia’s own region, raising eyebrows over the fairness of the proceedings.
One shocking example Zgambo highlights is the case of Brebner Changala, where the Chief Resident Magistrate seemed determined to rush the trial, denying Changala a fair chance to call key witnesses. The urgency with which this case is being pushed through the courts only fuels suspicion that there’s more than meets the eye. It’s as though the legal process has been set on a fast track to fulfill a political mission.
Zgambo closes his article with a warning: this legal manipulation, orchestrated by Christopher Mundia, may serve Hichilema’s interests now, but it’s a ticking time bomb. When it blows, the consequences could be catastrophic, not just for Hichilema but for the entire country. The truth has a funny way of catching up with you, no matter how hard you try to bury it.
Arresting Thomas Allan Zgambo might remove him from the public eye for a while, but as the saying goes, you can’t lock up the truth. The real question now is: how long before the house of cards comes tumbling down?
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