By Merlyn Mwanza
FDD leader Edith Nawakwi has accused President Hakainde Hichilema and those in the UPND of attempting to wash their dirt on her, following her being warned and cautioned for allegedly abducting and threatening violence on the Hatembos
Nawakwi said she availed herself to police today following persistent call outs made to her and was warned that she on dates unknown but between September 2020 and January 2021she threatened violence contrary to the penal code section 90 and abductee Pheluna Hatembo and Hatembo and lodged them in different lodges against their will and have since filed the complaint of threatening violence and abduction.
She said she was asked if she had anything to say but explained that at present she has nothing to say unless they go to court where she will have “mountains to say”, because the genesis of the Pheluna story was in public domain, with the players and beneficiaries of the Kalomo land being the President himself.
Nawakwi claimed that the President knows what he did, saying she came into the picture because of the issues of LIMA bank, for which she had gone to Kalomo to look for LIMA bank properties which were in private hands and that’s how she got in touch with the Hatembos, saying she was preparing her defence case of her having allegedly defamed Hakainde Hichilema.
She said she was looking forward to Hichilema prosecuting his case as she would have asked him pertinent questions, but decided against doing that since as President he cannot prosecute private citizens but that in between that she has received threats, for stating that the last people who had custody of the Hatembos were UPND themselves.
“I am actually elated that even though the President dropped his case on defamation, he has opted indirectly through Pheluna and Milton to be in court. So we will meet each other in court and I hope that they have their defence,” Nawakwi said. “I hope this time they won’t be talking of the nolles. I don’t want a nolle, let the police take this matter to the DPP, proceed. If you are going to put a nolle, don’t even start because or won’t work.”
She said the matter was being resurrected because of her media statements.
“Hakainde Hichilema is such a person whose ego is larger than Zambia. And he thinks that he can shut everyone up because I mean let’s face it he can’t manage this country, he’s incompetent, he has no skill. He has no acumen of being a head of state. Nothing,” Nawakwi said, saying the President’s main preoccupation was about which next opposition leader he was going to inconvenience.
She said the only reason President Hichilema was behind this “hoax” was because he was just scared of his shadow.
“And this is the nature of the men who are not fulfilled in life. He thinks that being President is the best thing and all of us must shut up and start clapping for him. Some of us can’t. He comes from Bweengwa. He was brought up in a village he needs to understand that his duty is to the village. To the people on the streets. To the hunger that has befallen this country, unprecedented suffering,” Nawakwi said.
She urged Zambians to rise up and start a movement to get “Hakainde out of office.”
“And that movement should be very serious. It requires sacrifice. It requires dedication. It requires service to the nation,” Nawakwi said, accusing President Hichilema of reintroducing colonialism as now State House was being populated by foreigners.
She said security was in the food, but this is the President who “everyone” is saying they were tired of, claiming that the people were saying he was fake and that he must go.
“Zambians must realise that voting for Hakainde is Zambia’s worst mistake, because this President will not take us anywhere,” Nawakwi said.
She said the case involving the Hatembos was about the alleged fraudulent acquisition of farm number 1724 in Kalomo, which belonged to the late Hatembo, the father to Pheluna and that Pheluna was in fact the administrator and she argued at the time that she had never met President Hichilema and neither signed any contract with him and that the next complaint was about a missing person where her daughters went to police and filed a complaint of missing person.
Nawakwi said the other complaint was from Phelunas brother about a missing person and that the whole police department that was following up on the matter were fired.
“But now it’s like a situation in the village where people are sitting, there is a joke in the village where you are seated and you accuse children of doing something and as the youngest you simply accept,” said Nawakwi, adding that those in the UPND thought they could wash their dirt on her.
