By Patson Chilemba
Sorry I am coughing, said Luapula Province minister Derrick Chilundika when questions started piling up over a viral audio encouraging illegal UPND mining and self benefit by someone whose voice sounds like his.
Contacted by Daily Revelation over an audio posted on social media, encouraging illegal mining apparently of the much talked about sugilite by UPND cadres and senior officials in the administration, Chilundika described the recent audio encouraging wanton looting and self benefit as simply “computer work.”
“No I don’t want to put up any comment, but any way I can see what computer works can do. I am saying I don’t want to put up a comment as legally advised but I can see what computer works can do,” Chilundika said.
Asked if he was truthfully saying the voice was computer work, Chilundika said: “Exactly! Exactly!”
Asked if he would maintain the same position if independent investigations were to be carried out over the same, Chilundika started coughing.
“Sorry, I am coughing let me just cough a bit and call just after a minute,” said Chilundika, whose coughing intensified as the conversation proceeded.
However, subsequent attempts to call him after a minute failed as Chilundika claimed in a text message that he was still coughing.
“Still battling with the cough sorry sir,” Chilundika stated in the text message.
“Okay can we talk when the flu ends?” the journalist texted back as Chilundika responded: “I will contact you.”
“Okay? The question I was intending to ask is, are you open for investigations to ascertain the authenticity of the audio in question and will you remain confident that at the end of any investigation you will still be able to say it’s (something synonymous with) Photoshop? And will you encourage investigations to actually be conducted so that you are cleared as you assert that is it not you in the audio but Photoshop?” the journalist asked.
But Chilundika did not respond any further.
In the audio that has gone viral, the man speaking in a voice like that of Chilundika is heard encouraging a purported district commissioner to continue on the path of unregulated mining with the said instructor expecting to get K2 million from the deal.
The one who was being instructed to effectualise the deal is heard assuring the instructor that all was well, including machinery and other resources.
The instructor assured his loyalists that they should not fear as he had their back and would also speak on their behalf with the superiors, adding that they just have to use common sense as there were no jobs available.
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