By Patson Chilemba
Investigations are what will lift Edgar Lungu’s immunity, says Colonel Panji Kaunda.
And Col Panji said he expected the winning UPND leaders to be on the streets controlling their cadres who went on rampage following the announcement of results rather that toasting Champaign in glittery hotels.
Reacting to incoming PF member of parliament for Lupososhi Emmanuel Mpankata’s statement to Daily Revelation that the new government should not lift President Edgar Lungu’s immunity, but must instead investigate the civil servants who were the implementors of government programmes, Col Panji said there was no retribution in investigating crime.
“Yes the UPND must not lift Edgar Lungu’s immunity. We will not take the immunity from Lungu. What will remove his immunity is when they investigate and find him with a case to answer, is the time they will remove his immunity,” Col Panji said.
He demanded to know why the Electoral Commission of Zambia (ECZ) had this time around refused to disclose the assets declarations by presidential candidates in the 2021 general elections, saying the idea was to know so that citizens could compare how much a certain leader had before entering government and how much they had accumulated while in government.
“Otherwise they will be hiding and stealing. It’s not everyday that we will have a President who is rich like HH,” Col Panji said.
He said he shall keep up the revolution and will not go to sleep, and encouraged Zambians not to do so even for the incoming government, saying they must be on the watch to provide effective checks and balances.
“Just a word of caution to our friends in the UPND. This victory was not for the UPND as a party. It was a victory for Zambians, who used UPND as a vehicle to move from point A to B. The 2.8 million Zambians who voted for HH are not all UPND members,” Col Panji said. “They are Zambians who wanted change and saw the UPND as the safest party to do so. When I see UPND officials celebrating in glittery hotels with Champaigns it worries me.”
Col Panji urged those in the UPND to be as modest as their leader President-elect Hakainde Hichilema in victory.
“I expected them to be in the streets controlling cadres from doing what PF were doing, not toasting Champaign in glittery hotels,” said Col Panji. “We don’t want another state capture of our country again. We are going for them from day one.”
