By Patson Chilemba
Police are scared to move on in on the alleged fraudsters in the purchase of the fraudulently obtained mines by Anglo American because they are Hakainde’s symbiotic friends, who bankrolled his campaigns, says FDD leader Edith Nawakwi.
Speaking with Daily Revelation Newspaper on information that politically linked forces in the mining industry, said to have strong links with powerful people in the UPND administration have disregarded police callouts over serious allegations of fraudulent practices and illegal transfer of exploration licences, Nawakwi said the police service she has come to know are those who break peoples doors for suspects premises, as opposed to the one that was timid in following up the suspects in the alleged mine fraud, who have spurned call outs after they were sent to them in September 2023.
Details in the matter are that Anglo American PLC, which is known to have serious connections with State House and is accused of controlling leaders in third world countries, has bought a fraudulently obtained mine from Arc Mineral and Handa Resources Limited, with those implicated being individuals linked to the Zambian government, over fraudulent practices, including the illegal transfer of exploration licences and collaborating or inducing public officers to approve the grant of unlawful transfer
On the nitty-gritties on the alleged fraudulent activities surrounding the licence transfers, investigations have revealed irregularities at the Ministry of Mines dating from 2021 through forged and applications of transfer pretending to be “A CHANGE IN PARTICULARS” and that the recent submission of documents on behalf of Zamsort, Arc Minerals executive chairman Nick Von Schirnding filled in and submitted at the Ministry’s cadaster office on July 27, 2023, Form XV(Regulation 29(1) being an application for consent to transfer mining right, mineral processing licence, or register transfer shares in or transfer control of, company holding rights or mineral processing licence, with the ministry responding to this application signed by chief registrar of mines, Choolwe Chaduka, who addressed the letter to the bonafide transferor, Zamsort Ltd but the offer letter was instead given to the purporter Schirnding who is neither an officer or representative of the transferor.
But Nawakwi said the police have failed to move in against the suspect because of the mention of Anglo American in the matter.
“They can’t move in because of Anglo American Siamese relationship with Hakainde Hichilema, not State House. The funding from Anglo American, the symbiotic relationship of Anglo American with Hakainde Hichilema and his party through Brenthurst, and Hakainde’s business relationships with Anglo American through Benefit Consulting and through the Insurance companies makes it completely ultravires,” Nawakwi said. “You can’t say the criminals are being shielded. No! The police are petrified picking up suspects to interview them. They sent out callouts in September, up to this day, they have not effected interviews on their callouts. This is simply because the parties involved, specifically Anglo American are symbiotically related to Hakainde Hichilema’s businesses, through the insurance companies, Benefit Consulting, you have to check the PACRA records because it’s a long time since I dealt with these issues, the owners of AFLIFE and Benefit Consulting.”
Nawakwi charged that Brenthurst, “a trust organization of Anglo American” had now become a kitchen cabinet for President Hichilema, asserting that these are the people who bankrolled his way into State House.
“And then you go to the others, the Valentine Chitalu’s through Arc Minerals are actually his partners. AFLIFE is by all intents and purposes Valentine Chitalu, Munakupya Hantuba and Hakainde Hichilema. So when there is a call out by the police to people who must explain as to how a licence belonging to Zambians has found itself into the hands and ownership of Hakainde’s friends, that’s Valentine Chitalu there you are saying Arc Minerals, isn’t it?” Nawakwi said. “What I am saying is that the police are petrified at realising that their callout was directed to bosom friends of Hakainde Hichilema.”
But she said this was not how she knows police to operate in this country, saying in her case “over a useless case”, they were getting her out of bed in UTH and she had to literally go out of the borders of Zambia to seek medication because the police were camping at UTH saying “bring her over dead or alive.”
She said when she came back from abroad where she had gone for treatment, the police again camped at her residential gate for days until “they got me out of bed”, saying they would arrive at her residence around 05:00 hours in the morning.
“That’s the police I know. You understand? They have been given a complaint, they have to effect an arrest. It’s their job. That’s the police I know. I don’t know a shy police, especially under this retiree Musamba, who thinks that his job is to disperse a funeral, his job is to disperse a peaceful meeting. He thinks that his job is to disperse people jogging,” Nawakwi said. “But when you give him real fraud and criminality as is being suggested in this matter then he’s very shy. And he’s only shy because he knows that the crew of this issue stoops at the feet of Hakainde Hichilema.”
She said there were ex-miners today whose benefits were taken by Benefits consulting, saying people could hear the ranting from director of project implementation at State House “my daughter Chipo” telling the ex-miners to go anywhere they wanted.
Nawakwi charged that there is a scam in this country which must be stopped, saying the fact a president or minister were one’s friend should not be used as a basis to fraudulently acquire rights from Zambia.
“For me I want to know why the police have grown cold feet because tomorrow I am in court over a phony charge of abducting citizens and the police have been very vicious to get me,” she said.
She further said it pointed to President Hichilema’s failure that he could allow Mines minister Paul Kabuswe to give away 120,000 hectares of land to the “Guptas” under the “so-called name” Unicom, and then turn around and go to the IMF to beg, saying they were just laughing at him.
“He has failed miserably. He has failed. IMF and World Bank don’t just abandon a nation the way they have abandoned Zambia. They have seen through him, they know him and they have read through him that he is sitting and presiding over the most corrupt regime in the history of Zambia,” Nawakwi said.
She said she was disappointed that the young people who should have safeguarded national interests became its biggest betrayers, saying Norman Mbazima, Chitalu and President Hichilema were in the privatization team, and that the most “disgusting thing” was that all the three went to bed with Anglo American who brought this country to its knees by not putting in any investment in the mines and wanted to put ZCCM under receivership.
“My young brothers decided to go to bed with these looters, you know it breaks my heart. I have nothing to say about Mbazima. I have nothing to say about Valentine and Hakainde Hichilema. And I am talking as their former minister during the time of privatization,” said Nawakwi. “They could have become presidents and chairmen and whatever, but they owed this country a service. And now one of them is President he doesn’t want to correct the mistakes that they made. These are the young people who would seat with the minister at the table. You ask Hakainde Hichilema ‘are we getting the correct price for Inter-Continental Livingstone?’ And he looks you in the face and says, ‘yes madam minister. This is the last price I could get from these people.’ The very next day he’s chairman of Southern Sun.”
Sources said the ongoing proceedings on the licence transfer have raised concerns about the involvement of government agencies and individuals processing the transfer, with the Competitions and Consumer Protection Commissioner (CCPC) and Zambia Revenue Authority authenticating the transfers to the detriment of the country, wondering how a country could develop when institutions empowered to monitor manipulations and tax evasion bend to suit the needs of foreign entities while flexing muscles on indigenous Zambians mercilessly.
