By Isaac Zulu
Economic and Equity Party leader Chilufya Tayali has said that Lemmy Kajoba was a ceremonial Inspector General of Police who was not given powers to execute his duties as IG.
And Tayali has said that Cabinet Ministers serving under the UPND administration are moving with tails between their legs because they are scared of making certain decisions, saying President Hakainde Hichilema is the government and Cabinet himself.
In an interview, Tayali said that Kajoba was just holding the position of Inspector General of Police figuratively while working under instructions from State House.
“Ba Lemmy Kajoba was a ceremonial Inspector General of Police who was working under instructions from State House. The substantive Inspector General of Police is Siandenge. He is the man with powers and a lot of people in the Zambia Police,” Tayali said. “The Deputy Inspector General of Police is at State House where all the instructions have been coming from. And as a person who has faced so many arrests under the UPND government I don’t attribute the injustices that I have suffered at the hands of the Police to Mr Lemmy Kajoba because he has never been a substantive Inspector General of Police.”
He said that Kajoba could not show leadership in the exercise of his duties befitting that of Inspector General of Police because he was wearing a veil of the IG, and yet the substantive Inspector General of Police was Siandenge who was equally receiving directives from the Head of State.
“At least muli ba Kakoma Kanganja we saw some leadership not muli ba Lemmy Kajoba. And I feel pitty for him because when he was a ceremonial Inspector General of Police he was getting a salary. But this time he won’t be getting that salary,” Tayali said.
He said that the departure of Lemmy Kajoba from the Police Command cannot be described as good riddance, saying nothing will change.
“I pitty him and his removal from that position is not good riddance. I say so because the person that President Hakainde Hichilema has appointed
as new Inspector General of Police left the Zambia Police a long time ago and must have lost touch with current Police operations. So nothing will change… we don’t expect much change,” Tayali asserted.
And when asked if he would recommend that the Head of State extends his reshuffles to some underperforming Cabinet Ministers, Tayali said that some Ministers serving in the UPND government are moving with their tails between their legs because President Hakainde Hichilema is the government and Cabinet himself.
“If you look at ba Felix Mutati, who is tall in stature and used to be very articulate under the Patriot Front government is no longer the same. He can’t be in the new dawn government. If you look at ba Frank Tayali, Sylvia Masebo, ba Charles Milupi and many others; they are just holding on to those positions. We do not have Cabinet Ministers in the UPND government. President Hakainde Hichilema is the Head of State, the government and Cabinet himself,” said Tayali. “All these Ministers serving in the UPND administration are moving with tails between their legs because they are scared of President Hakainde Hichilema.”
He said that some Ministers that are currently serving in the UPND administration should not be blamed for the “mess being experienced in the country.”
“This exportation of maize and mealie meal that has resulted in the deficit of the staple food should not be blamed on the agriculture minister, but ba Hakainde Hichilema. The shortage of medicines in clinics and hospitals should not be blamed on health minister Sylvia Masebo, but on President Hakainde Hichilema. I have been opposing the proposed importation of drugs which are not certified by ZAMRA, but the President sent Sylvia Masebo with the delegation leader being Professor Roma Chilengi; meaning that all those undertakings were sanctioned by the Head of State. The UPND government has embarked on the importation of medicines that will pose a health risk on Zambians. All the mess that we are experiencing in the country should not be blamed on Cabinet Ministers, but on President Hakainde Hichilema,” said Tayali.
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