Transparency International Zambia (TIZ) president, Reuben Lifuka has charged that the acquittal of Second Republican President, Fredrick Chiluba’s wife, Regina is a clear indication that the use of courts of law in investigating and <del>persecuting</del>Â prosecuting corruption cases in Zambia is not helpful.
Mr. Lifuka said the general implication of the outcome of Mrs Chiluba’s case is that more room has been given for corrupt people to engage in corruption and go scott free after plundering public resources because the law is weak.
He told QFM in an interview that the weakening of the law against graft and its interpretation has just given plunderers and all those who cannot account for the usage of public resources space to go scott free without being taken to task.
Mr Lifuka said that it was now a free season for all those engaging in corruption to go ahead and plunder as much as they can because they know very well that the law has no strength to bite.
Mr. Lifuka further said the Zambian courts have done themselves a de-service following the acquittal of Mrs Chiluba.
[pullquote]Mr Sata said Mrs. Chiluba has finally got what she appealed for and congratulated her despite the acquittal being at the expense of many Zambians.[/pullquote]
He said the acquittal also raised the question of the duplicity in handling of corruption cases. Mr Lifuka said there was a huge possibility of selective justice on culprits of the same offence on the basis of one’s status in society.
Meanwhile Patriotic Front leader Michael Sata has congratulated second republican president Fredrick Chiluba’s wife Regina on her acquittal by the High court on.
The a panel of three High court Judges quashed the three and half years prison sentenced slapped on Mrs Chiluba by a lower court on allegations of receiving stolen property.
Mr Sata said Mrs. Chiluba has finally got what she appealed for and congratulated her despite the acquittal being at the expense of many Zambians.
QFM
……..and one wonders what purpose TIZ is serving.
Mmmhh,every country has laws and the difference is always weak vs strong institutions.Ours has laws but very weak institutions easily bought,”political” and subservient to and emasculated by the executive branch.They don’t fight to water down the abuse of office clause in the proposed constitution for nothing.
TIZ is source of income for lifuka the more he barks like a rabid mongrel the more he draws attention from his funders. regina was set free on technicality. If she got the items from FTJ why didnt the courts ask ftj to testify. even the trial judge erred bcos the case was a misdemenour attracting a maximum sentence of two years and if you over sentence then the court of appeal will set aside the sentence and allow you to go free thats what the law states
TIZ those are statements meant for your survival otherwise donor funds will dry up.I prefer getting comments on such matters from legal minds like LAZ.
Strange that Sata is on the congratulating side and not on the offensive.
HH will never be president, he should just retire before his money finishes!!!
only a tonga should replace mazoka!!!
I read that the items that were supposedly stolen were forfeited to the state,can some legal minds pls help me understand,if she is not guilty of receiving stolen property,why forfeit them to the state,who is the rightfull owner
Lifuka is right. The only solution is for Zambia to have a serious leader, one who is dedicated to be a servant, one who means business when it comes to issues of development. Acqutting wrong doers is a recipe to more wrong doing, costing the nation development. We need a leader from God, and NOT self imposed leaders. We are anxiously waiting for our time. Mr. Lifuka, speak more.
lifuka talk talk bark bark bark equals more funding to the opaque TIZ. Go to LAW school
Has TIZ ever thought maybe Mrs. Chiluba’s lawyer is that good. Why cant TIZ base their argument on a legal standpoint instead of barking like Mr. Sata?
chi lifuka you have the right to appeal to the supreme court instead of whining.Just because you did not get your desired judgment, then you say our courts are unhelpful.Who told you courts are there to help you?Get a life mwee.
Ba LT, where are you based? I don’t think Lifuka said PERSECUTING as you have written in paragraph 1. Persecuting is not the as Prosecuting, please.
Litika is typical of NGOs who will talk before getting the facts of a matter. Argumentum ignorantia!
Are we going to allow her to just get away? Anyway, Regina and Fredericks’ days of comfort are very much numbered. Yes, Regina had access to the best legal minds to defend her and the possibility of getting off on a technicality were their, but it does not make her innocent. Actually, # 3 lady gaga is right and though most of us are annoyed, these are the facts. However the law of natural justice could not allow her to continue enjoying ill-gotten wealth, hence forfeiture to the state.
ZAMBIA WAKE UP SERVE YOURSELVES, NOW!
If Lifuka is barking, why attack him?? You too are equally barking
Why is that when a man and a woman are caught up in sin, the attack is more on a woman than the male counterpart, the initiator.During Jesus time, a woman was brought by the mob, ready to stone her for commiting adultery.They never bothered to ask about the man she was with in bed.
Our court went ahead and slaped a charge on Regina for iligaly possessing Government property from state house,was she the one who was residing in state house?The victim, the one who has been escorting her to court, has never been questioned and they are just wathcing him”ndweee” behaving like puppets
ba Lifuka , . . .typical greedy bemba boy leave that TIZ and go back to your Architectural career or you will get bruised !
As the director or whatever he is of TIZ, he should not be selective on the cases he wishes to comment on. Gladys Nyirongo has been imprisoned as have a number of army guys involved in corruption. Justice is not justice if it is just about playing to the local or international gallery. It seems to me that organisations such as TIZ are just there to criticise their governments and never seem to offer any constructive criticism. We need to move on from this Chiluba saga as it has already taken up too much of our time.
#16 rb
Lifuka is Lozi,you dimwit.
Imwe ba VJ Rigger dont display your foolishness. I know Reuben Lifuka personally from St Clements then to unzando later cbu and i know his parents who are 100% bemba . ..
So what is Lifuka’s definition of justice? He seems to repeteadly prefer judgements to only be those decided in line with his uninformed and unsubstantiated analysis. If indeed he has the intellect to decide cases and to analyse each and every one, why the hell didn’t he work hard and become a judge? Wasn’t he the one praising the very same judiciary on the Chansa Kabwela judgement? People ought not to have such hatred for othje
The courts UNHELPFUL in fighting Graft because RB has been writing their Verdict.
It apparent from Lifuka’s rantings that he (Lifuka) is either ignorant about the criminal justice administration or he is being insincere in his rantings. For the sake of enlightening Lifuka, it is the duty of prosecutors to prove to the court beyond all reasonable doubts that the accused really committed the alleged offence. It is not a duty of the court to start searching for evidence in an event that prosecutors have failed to adduce plausible evidence. The duty of the court is to convict the accused, based on the adduced evidence by prosecutors, if it (the court) is convinced beyond all reasonable doubts. The other duty of the court is to acquit the accused if prosecutors have to submit plausible evidence to convince the court beyond all reasonable doubt that the accused really…
It is apparent from Lifuka’s rantings that he (Lifuka) is either ignorant about the criminal justice administration or he is being insincere in his rantings. For the sake of enlightening Lifuka, it is the duty of prosecutors to prove to the court beyond all reasonable doubts that the accused really committed the alleged offence. It is not a duty of the court to start searching for evidence in an event that prosecutors have failed to adduce plausible evidence. The duty of the court is to convict the accused, based on the adduced evidence by prosecutors, if it (the court) is convinced beyond all reasonable doubts. The other duty of the court is to acquit the accused if prosecutors have submitted plausible evidence to convince the court beyond all reasonable doubt that the accused really…
According to LIFUKA,MMEMBE and other PF cadres,justice is only served when their opponents are convicted.
Sharp Shooter you should be sharp enough to read between the lines of Sata’s statement. As for TIZ, their existence is relevant because without them raising dust, plunder would go on with impunity!
# 23 Katoloshi: well said but please also read about the woman who has been sentenced to death on purely circumstances evidence. I think death penalty is a very serious sentence where evidence should be there for everybody to see. Same courts, same citizens right?:-?
#26 it is true that one can be convicted based on circumstantial evidence, but such evidence should be colloborated by independent evidence.
#26 it is true that one can be convicted based on circumstantial evidence, but such evidence should be corroborated by independent source of evidence. In the absence of corroboration the court should not convict the accused unless the only reasonable inference from the overwhelming circumstantial evidence is that the accused is guilty. In Regina Chiluba’s case, the inference of guilty would be unreasonable.