By Patson Chilemba
We are seeing unprecedented appointments from one region, Bowman Lusambo has charged.
But police spokesperson Rae Hamoonga urged Lusambo not to politicise the police, arguing that officers were being appointed based on their capability, and that “we are not in the era where people were just being appointed based on political affiliations or whatever.”
Speaking with Daily Revelation, Lusambo said Zambians must open their eyes and ears over the many appointments which were being made on regional lines, including on information in the police service on the appointment of Mwaanza (Southern Province) and Mubita Nawa (Western Province) as the new director and deputy director respectively for criminal investigation, CID, taking over from Mike Nsofwa (Northern regions) and Ngulube (Eastern Province), who have been transferred from the head office to Tazara in Kapiri Mposhi.
“We have seen unprecedented appointments from one region. I am urging people to open their eyes and ears,” Lusambo said, saying “when we come back to government we won’t fire people.”
And Lusambo said he has not understood up to now what he said to have been accused of insulting the President with Raphael Nakachinda. He urged those in the UPND to relax and concentrate on governing the country, but that they would not govern it alone, as every country had people with differing views on matters.
He said there was political tension in the country right now, which he said the President needed to show leadership on with the two former presidents, saying if the country missed out on this opportunity, any opposition who would come in in 2026 will also start going after the UPND.
Lusambo said he was not calling for the investigations to end, but that politicians should stop dictating how the investigative wings were conducting matters, adding that the county needed strong state institutions.
But asked if the PF missed out on the opportunity to make the same institutions stronger as they were in the driving seat in the last 10 years, Lusambo argued that the reason why President Hakainde Hichilema has appointed Chirwa as DEC director general is because he saw the value in Lungu’s appointee, arguing that the former president allowed institutions to operate independently.
He said he will support Chirwa in her duties as corruption was bad, and that there has been no country which has progressed having embraced corruption.
But Hamoonga argued that the Zambia police does not look at tribe when making appointments, saying the appointing authority who happens to be the Inspector General of Police, appoints somebody based on the capability of an individual.
“Secondly also we want to remind Mr Lusambo that he should not politicise the police, we are not in the business of politics ourselves. We are in the business of policing. If an officer is capable he will be given an opportunity to serve in any particular office depending on his capability,” Hamoonga said. “We are not in the era where people were just being appointed based on political affiliations or whatever. For us now we are looking at capability of the officer. That is what police is looking at. Yes.”
But asked if he was suggesting that those who have been replaced were appointed on political basis going by his statement that the era where people were being appointed based on political affiliation was gone, Hamoonga said he did not want to be misquoted, against the insistence from the journalist that it was simply a question being posed to him, and nothing more.
“No, no, no. Don’t misquote me. And if you are going to be talking like that then I don’t know what you are trying to drive at,” Hamoonga said, as the journalist responded: “No! It’s a question.”
“I have mentioned. I have said we are appointing officers based on capability. Capacity of somebody that’s how we appoint somebody. If somebody is capable let it be so,” said Hamoonga.
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