By Isaac Zulu
Guess Nyirenda says Solicitor General Marshal Muchende must immediately step aside, and urged President Hakainde Hichilema to give leeway and leverage to investigating agencies that are investigating his official.
Speaking with Daily Revelation, Nyirenda urged President Hakainde Hichilema to suspend Muchende in order for the Anti-Corruption Commission to conduct investigations, devoid of undue influence and interference from the Executive Arm of Government.
Nyirenda, who is Operation Young Vote executive director, said that the rule of law should apply in all corruption related cases, without being selective in the way fight against the scourge is being handled.
He noted that President Hichilema pledged to uphold the rule of law while in opposition, even in the fight against graft, and wondered why he has U-turned on the same after forming government.
“Like most Zambians, OYV is concerned about the Anti-Corruption Commission’s silence on allegations that they are investigating Solicitor General Marshal Muchende. President Hakainde Hichilema made a lot of promises when he was in opposition, one of which was to uphold the rule of law in whatever the UPND does, including in the fight against corruption. And our expectation as an organization is that President Hichilema and the UPND government should give leeway and leverage to the Anti-Corruption Commission so that it executes its mandate and task in a transparent manner,” Nyirenda explained. “When he was in opposition President Hakainde pledged that his government will uphold the rule of law and ensure that the fight against is not selective. We are, however, concerned and disappointed that the Head of State is backtracking on this particular matter. This could be an indication that there could be an invisible hand from the appointing authority regarding the way the fight against corruption is being handled.”
He said that the picture being portrayed to members of the public is that individuals serving in the UPND administration are being shielded while those that served in the previous regime and some members of opposition political parties are being pursued, saying that this only goes to demonstrate that there is no equality before the law under the UPND government.
And Nyirenda said that President Hichilema should Solicitor General Marshal Muchende to step aside while law enforcement agencies continue investigating his allegations, saying that this is something the current Head of State promised but has now U-turned.
He said that the UPND administration should not allow a situation where a public official being investigated would continue being in office as the case was during the Patriot Front government.
“They should ensure that these people serving in government and are under investigations step aside to allow for thorough investigations, without undue influence and interference from the Executive Arm of Government. We don’t want to see people serving in government who are facing corruption allegations continue reporting to their respective offices, like was the case during the Patriot Front government,” said Nyirenda.
