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Robert Amsterdam’s Open Letter to Mutembo Nchito

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AN OPEN LETTER TO THE DIRECTOR OF PUBLIC PROSECUTIONS OF ZAMBIA

MR. MUTEMBO NCHITO

Dear Mr. Nchito,

I write to you as international counsel to His Excellency former President Rupiah Banda regarding serious and urgent concerns over your conduct as Director of Public Prosecutions over the past year.

As you are well aware, His Excellency and his family have been ruthlessly targeted by the Zambian government and investigative wings under your direction in a systematic campaign of politically motivated calumny and defamation with little parallel in Zambian history.

For almost 16 months, the state-controlled media and politically compromised media such as The Post have published a vast array of patently false accusations against the distinguished former head of state and his family, ranging from the disappearance of gold, to trumped up conspiracies of oil contracts, to total non-crimes such as campaign fundraising. The fact that these allegations turn up as sensationalist headlines in the media only to disappear and be forgotten speaks volumes about their fundamental lack of substance. After 16 months of this attack campaign, there has not been one single formal charge or even a real investigation. Worse still, after 16 months, we have not been informed of what, exactly, if any, alleged offence took place.

The purpose of these trials-by-headline is to damage reputation in place of any sort of procedural exercise of the law based upon the presumption of innocence. It is clear that you, Sir, and your former business partner Fred M’membe of the Post Newspaper, are in charge of overseeing a civil conspiracy to defame a respected elder statesman.

Over the last number of days, myself and many others have received calls from individuals who have been brought into some kind of desperate dragnet in an attempt by the investigative wings to come up with some form of credible charge against the former President.

Most recently, the former President was subjected to an extraordinary and illegal request to attend before the Joint Investigative Team to allegedly answer in respect to charges that were, yet again, unspecified. In furtherance of your civil conspiracy to harm the reputation of President Banda, you provided newspapers, including the Post, with this private and confidential correspondence prior to even these requests reaching the hands of my client.

Now sir, let us publicly review some facts. Along with Mr. M’membe, you are known co-defendants in a civil trial where you have been found to owe more than $3 million U.S. dollars to the Development Bank of Zambia (DBZ). Your professional misconduct in that case earned the discredit of the judge, as shown in comments he made in open court which made its way into the ruling.

Given the fact that it is uncontested that you and your co-defendant M’membe approached President Banda during his tenure for financial assistance but were refused, you both have harboured ill will towards my client that has manifested itself in this notorious campaign of defamation, intimidation, and harassment against him and his family.

Along with the Patriotic Front’s apparent goal of returning Zambia to a one-party state and President Sata’s determination to wipe out political competition, the Nchito-M’membe defamation conspiracy against the Banda family found an enthusiastic sponsor in the administration.

Objectively, Mr. Nchito, this position raises important considerations of professional criteria of office. The reasonable apprehension of bias both subjectively and objectively represents a hurdle you could not overcome before any rule of law court. It is arguable that your conduct itself constitutes a perversion of justice, particularly in combination with the illegal arrests and detentions of opposition leaders, which have damaged Zambia’s standing as a state supposedly enjoying an independent judicial system.

You have also violated the Guidelines for proper prosecutorial conduct promulgated by both the African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights and the United Nations.

The African Commission’s Principles and Guidelines on the Right to a Fair Trial and Legal Assistance in Africa require that prosecutors “carry out their functions impartially and avoid all political … or any other kind of discrimination.”[1] They further mandate that Prosecutors “act with objectivity.”[2] And further, that prosecutors “shall always conduct themselves in accordance with … the recognized standards and ethics of their profession,”[3] and “perform their duties fairly, …, and respect and protect dignity and uphold human rights, thus contributing to ensuring due process …”[4]

Identical standards are included in the United Nations’ Guidelines on the Role of Prosecutors.[5]

Your conduct violates all of these fundamental standards of prosecutorial ethics.

Your actions against President Banda, his family, and leaders of the opposition blatantly discriminate on political and other grounds, fail to meet minimum standards of impartiality, objectivity and fairness, and disrespect their dignity and human rights, including their right to due process of law. Your abusive actions fall far below the “recognized standards and ethics” governing prosecutorial conduct.

In addition, there is the fact that President Sata himself has interfered with the judicial process directly in an attempt to benefit you and M’membe by suspending the judges and justice who ruled against you in the DBZ case after a full hearing in a Zambian Court.

This, too, violates the African Guidelines, which mandate that judicial bodies “shall be independent from the executive branch” and free from “any inappropriate or unwarranted interference.”[6]

When you combine your record of contemptuous conduct to the judiciary with the illegal and defamatory attack on my client, it appears that such circumstances one might go over your head to the Minister of Justice.

The Minister of Justice Mr. Wynter Kabimba, however, also serves as Secretary General of the Patriotic Front, and has shown himself to be contemptuous of the investigative wings and to hold himself above the law. For ease of reference I attach a photo of the Justice Minister at the ACC accompanied by menacing PF thugs, refusing to answer substantive allegations over his own conduct.

In such a hopelessly politically charged and biased environment, your attempt to lift my client’s immunity represents a shameful departure from Zambian history.

I call upon you to resign from the post you should never have been awarded, and do the honourable thing, if you have any honour left.

In light of your behavior to date I intend to file a complaint before the African Commission for Human Rights early next week documenting these concerns and evidence of your misconduct unless I receive a satisfactory response by Monday close of business.

Sincerely,

Robert Amsterdam

International counsel to former President Rupiah Banda

editor
editorhttp://www.lusakatimes.com

108 COMMENTS

    • @Zemuntu, Lets say your own father is the uncircumcised fool, how does that sound? Great I guess. Think before you type stupid things.

    • BUSHE, there is no powerful lawyer or law in Zambia capable of curbing this *****? reading this is very painful i didnt even finsh it, It’s like watching your own parents being abused left right centre and you cant even do anything about it!
      The Guy is working towards civil war in Zambia, Banda and his counter parts are commiting treason, iam 100% sure, many of you might not see this but watch this space, Zambia will never be the same, Ba Sata how can you allow this? do something please before it’s too late!

    • This fooool called Amsterdam is now getting mad. Be reminded Robert that Banda is a citizen like any villager in Zambia. He has no special powers to go against the law. Have u treid even at one moment to think why a respectable Rupia as u may know him was unanimously voted out of power by Zambians? You are a dull lawyer and a crook at the same time. Do u think Mutembo can be dragged by a an idiiiot like u? He holds a very important position in our Gvt and to him, your letter is trash fit for disposal. You are a type of Idiiiots who think u can drag an African gvt in any direction. I can assure u, you a fighting a loosing battle.

  2. Shame on Amsterdam,

    shame on this guy.We have our Courts in Zambia to lodge a compliant in=case he has one.

    Zambia is a sovereign state and will not be intimidated by any person be it Amsterdam or any person.

    Zambia will remain strong and if Rupiah Banda has nothing to be sacred off let him face the Investigative wings of the state. He is scared because he knows that he misruled this Country and stole from the National Coffers.

    • @dollar… Amsterdam is right or very close to the truth, Yes we have courts of law in zambia but they(courts) are polluted!,, eg how on earth did kapoko walk free?

      anywhere the point is let the PF government address amsterdam´s concerns after which it maybe fair to look at RB`s case!

    • PF has supplied plenty of own goals since the beginning of this ‘spat’ at which time the lawyer had paper thin ammunition and thus publicly charted out his course of action and has worked tirelessly to build his defence. The politicians who have chosen to become his little local puppets will learn in time that each of them are merely potential pay checks and means to an end. As for he and the Justice Minister, their little war goes way back and this is just the next leg. The letter is written for us more than him. We have heard similar sentiments expressed by others before this and this lawyer is a quick study of good points made by others. On a lighter note, if he had been hired by the other side you can bet your last dollar he knows exactly what kind of letter RB would have gotten…

    • #Dollar & A Phiri ana bwe.

      You moron Chimpanzees stop being silly! Robert Amsterdam is trying to help the majority of the voiceless Zambians. Only ignorant PF democracy killer squads like you are the only ones supporting Dictator Sata & his evil PF leaders like corrupt element like Kabimba who have gone out of their ways even to blackmail & court worse corrupt elements like Gabriel Namulambe, Masumba, Catherine Namugala to cover up the crimes they committed against Zambians.

      You need to open up your eyes before you hit a clean person like Robert Amsterdam who is just supporting Zambians! The people who are hurting Zambians is Nchito, Kabimba, Mmembe & the above corrupt people who need to pay back their stolen money they have stolen from us Zambians!

      Hatred against Sata & PF is…

    • #2 Dollar & 2.2. A Phiri ana bwe.

      Continued……

      Hatred against Sata & PF is just simmering, when it boils out hand Sata & his corrupt PF leaders will be just burned on wooden pillars by angry Zambians including soldiers, intelligence & Police officers they think will protect them!

      This has happened in Zambia before when UNIP communist Dictator Kaunda took Zambians for granted the way Sata is taking Zambians for granted & ruling by decrees.

      Sata just wake up & say there will be a dual carriage when he does not even mean what he is saying just as he said he will honour the Barotseland Agreement.

    • The people who have hurt Zambians span all political parties. I’m happy to be a chimp if calling it as I see it makes a monkey out of me. And I am no supporter of corruption by all parties, seeing as you selectively decide who and who is not corrupt. This lawyer ultimately is helping himself. His own words on Africa tell me exactly how he really sees us. We are merely an opportunity and means to an end. Sorry I don’t buy into the ‘selfless champion’ blurb. Silly me.

  3. “I call upon you to resign from the post you should never have been awarded, and do the honourable thing, if you have any honour left.” lol

  6. Please Mr. Robert come to Zambia and you are going to see what we Zambian’s can do. please stop interfering in your internal Business

  7. Someone out there, please tell me whether this Robert Amsterdam is a Zambian or merely a foreign Lawyer defending the Banda family. He appears to me to be a person who is out to make money and to hell with the Zambian people. Let him follow up all the Banda family legal matters in the courts of law and should not be allowed to write these open letters or organising press conferences outside Zambia to discredit our beloved nation. Please Sir, behave like the learned man that you are and do your job within the boundaries of the Zambian Law. We love our country and we would like to continue enjoying the peace that we have had all these years. Any leader who is bent on bringing anarchy to Zambia should not be tolerated. We want peace……We want accountability PERIOD!

    • He is the chosen one to defend a former president and his family who have a need for someone with a solid international reputation for fighting the big dirty political fights. One could say that one does not go to this type of guy unless one really needs someone who will kick up a lot of dust (and obscure some inconvenient truths in the process). Some of the less distasteful clients he claims to have represented heavily dispute his involvement and sound quite irritated by him. But who knows. Politics is dirty business. Angels don’t get the job done.

  9. This is a dog people are tryna forgive rupiah Banda but if he continues to bring dogs like this he will see infact parliamentarians wipe this Niggaz immunity mukakeni chikabwalala

  12. MR ROBERT THUMBS UP WELL ARTICULATED EVEN THE BIASED BRAIN WASHED SUPPORTER OF THE PF CAN FIND IT HARD TO REFUTE BUT ONLY A FEW ILLITERATES WITH NO GREY MATTER OR JUST A LITTLE WHICH IS ALSO CONTAMINATED WITH CORRUPTION.

    THE KANGAROO ZAMBIAN COURTS HAVE NO SAY HENCE THE NEED FOR INTERNATIONAL ONES.

    ICC HERE WE COME. ZAMBIA WILL BE SO HOT VERY SOON CRIMINALS WITH HIDDEN DISEASES JUST COMMIT SUICIDE.

  13. On points of law the PF and its cohort of criminals and sycophants have no answer. That is why they are shamefully falling back on cheap patriotism and pseudo nationtionalism not to mention name calling. Be reminded dear Pathetic Fo.ols that Amsterdam is representing and defending his client from your cheap accusations against him. You will quack and quake but Amsterdam wont be moved. He will remain resolute as long as he is needed to defend his client. That is what lawyers do! So my dear Pathetic Fo.ols you are just wasting your breath!

    • Yes so will Pathetic Fools, you can get a best lawyer for yourselves, but Pathetic Fool, will remain resolute in their endevour to call your inmature leaders to book.

    • You are fooling yourself to think that this lawyer Understand well our Soveriegn Law. He is just like any other Foreignr trying to Hold our Justice at Ransom…

  15. people of zambia, why can’t this lawyer take on tax evaders-zambia sugar, glencore to help mother zambia instead of selfish politicians who pay him lots of dollars stolen from zambia. this lawyer is indirectly stealing from us poor zambians…

    • Because his job is to defend RB that is it. It is OUR responsibility to ensure that the right thing is done about his Tax evasion.

  16. On certain instances one needs to excercise natural justice other than dwell proffessional abilities to tilt the law to suit their ill intended purposes. I konw one thing for sure that Lawyers like Amste damm.. Can climb every mountain to bring a glory to thier carrier even if it Crosses Ethical Standards.

    Wise Zambians should be aware of this fact… and those that do not heed this should be reminded that We only have one zambia to protect and we should never be swayed by those trying to use thier acquired …. so called Proffessionalism to trample on the Ordianary zambian. Let RB excercise Patriotism and Stop Discrediting Our Soverign state with these Manouvers

  17. As much as I don’t like a white man commenting on Zambian issues -this Robert Amsterdam is right.Everything he has raised is true.When will we wake up and smell the coffee? Things are not right in our country.Nchito should not hold such a position.However only a man of honor would resign which he isn’t.

  18. It looks like this white man is really scared of his client’s day in court. How on earth can he start diverting attention. MPs, lift the immunity of his client so that he can come and defend him in court.

  19. A lot of hot air being breathed but no tangible substance or foreseeable outcomes. Boxers fight in yhe ring, footballers in the pitch, journalists in the media. I expect lawyers to slag it out in courts be it in Zambia or abraod. RB is wasting ihis “loot” on this one (Robert Amsterdam). He is more of a spin doctor than a legal counsel

    • EXACTLY!!! THIS IS A SCAM OF A LAWYER…..RB SELLING OUT STATE SECRETS FOR THIS GALU TO DISCREDIT OUR COUNTRRY…CAN SAKWIBA DO THE SAME TO DAVID CAMERON OR OBAMA? AND CHAPS HERE ARE BUSY CLAPPING HANDS FOR THIS ECONOMIC REFUGEE! RB UZA BROKA MAMBALA….

  21. I know Nchito shouldn’t have that job, neither should Kabimba, Scot, and the guy at Zamtel among many others.

    Like this post if you want Nchito out.

  22. This crook of a lawyer, leave us alone you thief. Zambia is a sovereign state, okay??
    Get that in your thick head. Go and sort out your corruption cases in your country.

    • I HATE THIS COLONIAL DIK OF A LAWYER…..HE SOUNDS LIKE SOME WHITE FULL WHO THINKS THAT ALL AFRICANS ARE FULLS….A LAWYER OF ARTICLES & PRESS CONFERENCES….DIK FACE!

  23. WHY IS AFRICA STILL ALLOWING SUCH IMPERIALISTIC ATTITUDES TOWARDS IT. THIS IMBECILE STILL THINKS ZAMBIA IS A COLONY. HE HAS BEEN FATTENED BY STOLEN MONEY FROM ZAMBIA AND HE HAS NO SHAME. BE RE-REMINDED THAT THE MONEY FROM HENRY BANDA IS FOR THE POOR ZAMBIANS. MOST OF THESE LAWYERS HAVE NO SHAME AT ALL.

    • You I=d+iot FULL!

      Former UNIP communist Dictator Kaunda used to use propaganda with his imperialist rhetoric messages while himself wined & dined in western world food & clothes with apples which poor Zambians never ate!

      U are using the same language that blinded us, it was only when Chiiluba brought free market that Zambia economy started grow from 2001.

      Dictator Sata wants to use the same language while he & his fanily dines & wines in Western world experiences! Dictator Sata & all PF ministers have IMPERIALIST companies so no one should shift blame to the innocent Western World!

  24. Amsterdam is adding the sizzle to the stake so that it becomes nice. We need this though we know these guys are trying to settle personal scores.

  25. AFRICA MUST GROW IT’S OWN ECONOMY QUICKLY TO GET WEANED FROM THE WEST. AFRICA SHOULD RETHINK ALLOWING AMERICA SETTING UP MILITARY BASES IN THEIR COUNTRIES. DOING SO MEANS USA FIGHTING HER ENEMIES FROM ANOTHER COUNTRY LEAVING THEIRS INTACT. THIS IS BECAUSE THE ENEMY WILL BE FIGHTING THE LAUNCH-PAD COUNTRY AND NOT USA. LET AMERICA FIGHT ENEMIES FROM AMERICA SO THAT AMERICA’S ENEMIES DIRECT THEIR MISSILES TO AMERICA. THIS WAY AFRICA WILL START TO BE RESPECTED. THE ARMSTADAM CHAPS LOOK AT AFRICA WITH CONTEMPT COS ANYONE DOES WHAT HE FEELS LIKE DOING TO AFRICA.

    • You are speaking like your violent sponsor PF corrupt prostitute Kabimba who is advocating to teach poor Zambians school children local languages while he sends his children to International schoold where they teach English!

      You are a blind man who will be lead in a ditch! To perish!

  26. At least the Mwanawasa offered us the cabbage, RB organised the Euro bond but Sata has just brought confusion and multiplied corruption.

  27. Overall perceptive capital is lost in this country. Kabimba refused to be questioned and so did RB. Further steps have been publicly peddled against RB, but not against Kabimba. Nchito and company were ordered to pay back funds and they did not . Instead a tribunal was setup and approved with a Chair still (or not?) waiting to sit but earning keep whether in allowance or in accommodation and ration. Herein lies the broken systems in Zambia. What more should we do to correct this, if not to balance the act in an equitable way. Conclude your visibility before the Zambian people. Not even bye-elections will appease this state of affairs, and it doesn’t need Amsterdam to tell us that!

  28. Robert Amsterdam’s interest is to make money out of the desperate RB and his family>Whatever he says points to one thing,he has found a cheap way of making money from RB.He knows RB stole and is stinking rich from the money he stole from the Zambian people and he clearly wants to get a big chunk of it by way of defending RB.Amsterdam should not be allowed to continue distracting the government from recovering the money RB and his family stole.The Zambian government should use all the means at their disposal to stop this criminal from protecting wrong doing!!

  29. I URGE THE MPs TO LIFT RB’S IMMUNITYURGETLY SO THAT HE IS PROSECUTED FOR ALL THE WRONGS HE DID.IF POSSIBLE THE GOVERNMENT SHOULD WITHDRAW HIS PASSPORT SO THAT HE DOES NOT TRAVEL TO GO AND MEET AMSTERDAM.LET US SEE IF AMSTERDAM WILL COME TO ZAMBIA AND PROTECT RB.IF RB IS ALLOWED TO CONTINUOSLY LEAVE ZAMBIA AT HIS OWN FREE WILL ONE DAY HE WILL NOT RETURN TO ZAMBIA AND WILL JOIN HIS SON ANDREW IN SOUTH AFRICA

    • On countless times your seahorse pf government has beem asked to charge Rb but have failed. so where do you dream up charges that are not tenable in law?

      ati life is a journey, to oblivion i guess.

  30. Armsterdam u are useless, a coward of the worst make, if u think u are a strong lwayer come to zambia and defend RB

    • And you are challenging a reknowned human rights activities who is a sent angel to Zambians as they have suffered under UNIP Dictator Kaunda without anyone speaking on their behalf!

      Since you didn’t see how brutal KK was & u are eating corrupt money from your PF violent sponsor, u have blinded your eyes not to see the injustices being done against Zambians at the expense of satisfying your stomach like Nchito & Mmembe!

      Tell me? Since when Zambia experience Mealie Meal since UNIP KK came out of power in 1991? Its unheard of?

      Only Sata has managed to bring back Mealie Meal shortages, humiliating Zambians when they queue @Shops for Mealie Meal! Sata is not even concerned as he has continued with his nepotism & incompetent PF Ministers.

  31. I dont want to sound racist, but i think this pig has gone over board, you mean to tell me he can be this is allowed to pour oil on fire? Can sakwiba sikota behave like this in Europe or america,even just near by SA or Kenya? Can the GRZ do something about this pig? nomatter how right he may be, screaming like this at the poeple of another country let alone its leaders is un called for!
    Poeple of Zambia becareful, this is how they instigate civil war, turn you against each other, by the time you realise, all children and women are dead, nowhere to run to, Amsterdam gets more millions for starting another investment in war, Banda and his family, HH, Nm, get assylum in the countries of their choice, already his son is enjoying our money somewhere that is eveidence enough, Zambians wakeup!

    • You are a monkey who is only experienced in seating while manner falls down!

      Amsterdam is just helping you who does not even know his rights! You human rights abuser like your satanist PF Dictator Sata!

    • You are a monkey who is only experienced in seating while manner falls down!

      Amsterdam is just helping you who does not even know your rights! You human rights abuser like your satanist PF Dictator Sata!

    • You stinking ass! am not a politician am a zambian making my own money who wont be displaced when doom falls in Z, sit your ass where you are and continue supporting blindly, if you dont see that this is wrong then am better off as an interlligent aap advocating for poor Zambians even if it means blogging than you calling for zambians to fight each other at the hands of a few who wont even be affected.
      What an A*******!

    • I definitely will compalin in the country where you are for the genocide language you used against Amsterdan! You are a PF violent supporter & ought to be haunted as the criminal Hutu genocide criminals were hunted down in Rwanda & taken to the court of law!

      You should be a person who should speak for the abused Zambians who are being abused by Dictator Sata!

      Shame on u! Amsterdam should not even be the one speaking for Zambians but it should be you from where you are!

      It does not help even when u are out of Zambia u still can not see abuse!

    • This Shaka OZ, what is your agenda? Bloggers are expressing their opinions about ther country and you’re busying shooting them down.

    • This Shaka OZ is very rusty. What is your agenda? Bloggers are expressing their opinions about ther country and you’re busying shooting them down. Is someone paying you?

  32. I call on our beloved president, Mr sata to take action against this crook in the name of an international lawyer befor he achieves his destructive plan with his fellow crooks, the opposition leaders!!!!! Mr president, iam sure you know that fighting corruption creats more enermity tham friendship! The mafias have teamed up to see you down!!!!! DO NOT TAKE THEM LIGHTLY!!!!! Cage these mafias before they bring havoc to our country! We are behind you!!!!!!!!

    • Its you who is a crook & an ignorant violent PF cadre experienced in violent silencing opposition members in zambia as you did in Kabwata!

      You are a Kaponya just as your PF leader Sata is a kaponya & does not even know what delegation is nor does he even understand what the presidency is!

      Please do not show your ignorance here. You do not need political science for you to see that things are not right in Zambia.

      Nchito & Mmembe has huge debt to repay & have corrupted & colluded just to remove the very judges who passed judgement against them in the court of law!

      So who is a criminal? Nchito who masquerade as a DPP with a huge debt he need to repay with his Accountant friend Mmembe who masquerade as a journalist.

      Lets be fair!

  33. Amsterdam is a crook that wanted to protect criminals in Russia but he was arrested upon entry and deported!!he is not even a Lawyer that can represent a person and win the case!! to start with this imbecille doesnt even understand the constitution of the democratic Republic of Zambia and therefore cant even articulate himself properly in the courts of Law!!

    • You are a Kaponya just as your PF leader Sata is a kaponya & does not even know what delegation is nor does he even understand what the presidency is!

      Please do not show your ignorance here. You do not need political science for you to see that things are not right in Zambia.

      Nchito & Mmembe has huge debt to repay & have corrupted & colluded just to remove the very judges who passed judgement against them in the court of law!

      So who is a criminal? Nchito who masquerade as a DPP with a huge debt he need to repay with his Accountant friend Mmembe who masquerade as a journalist.

      Lets be fair!

    • Shaka, why insult people who want to tell it as it is? Slow down man, this is PF’s time and you just have to accept that.

  34. The case of Nchito and M’membe is well known and all Amsterdam is saying is just amplifying what all well-meaning Zambians are crying for, justice. Whether anyone likes it or not the Nchito/M’membe case will not go away until justice is served. Practically these two men are just as good as being on bail and when the next administration takes over they will dance to the music, this applies to Kapoko too.
    Amsterdam is in order.

    • Distant Drums,your drums are indeed distant.Your support for this criminal Amsterdam shows that you dont understand the situation.The Nchito/M’membe case involves their company and not the individuals.The cases against RB involves him directly as an individual.I am sure you remember that RB removed the abuse of office from the corruption offences.Have you ever asked yourself why he did that?To protect himself from prosecution.He knew he was stealing ad had to find a way to avoid prosecution.Amsterdam wants money from RB and he will use all tricks in the book to try and defend RB so that he gets paid part of the stolen money!Think guys,analyse,think again before you comment!!!

  35. So Nchito and M’membe approched RB to forgive the debt, and when RB said no all hell broke loose and war was declared. Now i can to some extent understand Nchito and M’membe’s hatred for RB. It then follows that had RB agreed to let them off he (RB) may very well still be president today????
    The whole nation is suffering because of a 3 million dollar debt and the person owing these monies is the DPP? Only in Africa.
    I hate to think what would have happened if the brave judges had not made a stand last year, was it judge Chisanga / Chisenge?

    • Wait there is plenty about Mmembe. He was in Fredicrk Chiluba’s gang during the 1990 s revolution but Chiluba refused to offer him a post and he then turned the Post into a pistol to shoot at Chiluba. It is his nature to use newspapers for his own evil motives

  36. You, Amsterdam, are the most hated foreigner in Zambia today. Just try and step your dirty foot on Cairo Road and see what will happen to you.

    • And you call yourselves CHRISTIAN NATION WHAT A SHAME
      I PRAY FOR AMSTERDAM THAT HE ADDRESS THE CRYING OF MY PEOPLE SHOULD BE HEAD ON INTERNATIONAL LEVEL
      THOSES WITH NSHIMA ON THE TABLE CANNT UNDERSTAND THE CRYING OF AN OLD WOMAN IN KANYAMA FOR EXAMPLE

  37. Sad state of affairs; only in Zambia do we give foolish chaps like this blood sucking lawyer Amsterdam an audience. The KGB should have erased this fool by putting one in between his eyes..

  38. Mr. Amsterdam, if your clients did nothing wrong why go to such an extent of writing open letters to the DPP? Why not wait for the right time to defend them in the courts of law as opposed to what you are publicizing? If the former President is innocent as you believe, why are you afraid for his immunity to be removed? If any thing a precedent has already been set in Zambia. Chiluba’s immunity was removed and who knows even Mr. Sata will have his immunity removed after his term of office.

    If you have a solid case or evidence that your client is innocent why start barking like a dog? And for you Zambians who are supporting this lawyer, where is your patriotism for your sovereignty as a country. Who among you can behave like this lawyer in a foreign country? Let’s not allow people…

    • Well said Arnold.The people who are supporting Amterdam have no patriotism to Zambia,they are sell outs!!Amsterdam is only interested in getting paid by RB because he knows RB stole and he wants part of the loot!!I am not a lawyer but I have never heard of a lawyer worth his salt who tries to defend his clients through the media before his client is brought before the courts!!Writing letters to the DPP is unprofessional and shows that this man is also a crook!!Why cant he wait until RB is charged and taken to court?This also shows that Amsterdam knows that RB will be found guilty when he is charged.He is scared of Mutembo Nchito’s calibre.Lol!!!

  40. Lets not allow people whose business is to make money by defending people to destabilize our peaceful country?

    Amsterdam may have points but his approach is totally wrong. Who is he to give ultimatums to office bearers in Zambian to resign? In fact removing RB’s immunity is one way of assisting him to clear his image as the most corrupt president in Zambia. What is he fearing? What I know is only the guilty are afraid?

  41. Rupiah is really funny. He is the most unpatriotic president Zambia has ever had. First he brought image builders for him from outside the country. Second he highers a foreign lawyer as his counsel and now he goes to south Africa to discredit his government. Shame on you, the world is laughing at you.

  42. Shame on your RB very unpatriotic. Just give us back our money. Where did you get money to afford an international lawyer. Who doesn’t know that your were struggling to survive before you were brought into Government. We don’t need Amsterdam to lecture to us.We are an Independent country not a colony

  44. Not even the British who colonised us can dictate such things to us. F…k off Amsterdam, Nevers, Hakainde and RB and family.

  45. SHAKA OZ,your mind need medical attention very urgently.You cannot call people who are opposed to your wraped thinking morons!!You dont seem to see what the real intention of this criminal Amsterdam is in defending criminals.Lawyers will always defend you even if they know you have stolen or killed someone as long as they know you will pay them.Cleary Amsterdam does not care what happens to Zambia as long as he gets paid by RB.The man is not interested in Zambia’s development.His interest is in getting part of the stolen money.Mind you this man is very expensive and only people who can afford to pay him millions of dollars are able to hire him as their lawyer.Grow up man and start thinking with your brains not you bottom!!

  46. Ba LT I thought we enjoy freedom of expression in Zambia? If so then why are you not posting my comments on who exactly Robert Amsterdam is? All I want is for bloggers here to judge for them selves who this man is after reading two articles (1) Yuko’s Case: Amsterdam’s Failed Strategy and (2) Robert Amsterdam: Strange Bedfellow With Legal Nihilists.

  47. What has this foreign mercenary got to do with issues of our sovereignity? Ba Banda, the minions he is working with in the UPND and MMD and their mercenary friend surely are scared like little dogs. They know that it has dawned on Banda now and want Nchito who has a proven track record of winning cases out of the way before Banda starts to make his way to the courts

    • Can you imagine the nerve of this chap when he article I referred to above says: ‘It is worth noting that, through his blogging activities, particularly on sites devoted to Mikhail Khodorkovsky ************, Amsterdam is almost certainly in breach of the Canadian Law Society’s Rules of Professional conduct as well as the Law Society of England and Wales.’ as well as’Most amazingly, Amsterdam’s biography on his own firm’s website states that Amsterdam is a member of the New York Bar Association (www.amsterdamandperoff.com/amsterdam.html). Yet Amsterdam is not a member of the New York bar’. and yet he is asking Nchito to do the honourable thing. This chap is a fraudster period!

  48. Whether Armsterdam likes it or not, his insults and madness will not break our resolve to have Rupiah Banda’s immunity lifted. Mwanya mulechimona

  49. RB and family should fire this lawyer. Nchito’s and Kabimba’s crimes must not be the basis for exonerating RB and family. Irrespective of possible flawed motivation by the prosecution, each accused must stand trial and answer to his/her own crimes and/or provide proof of innocence in court. The fact that he whose finger is pointing at you has four of his own fingers pointing at him does not negate your own level of incrimination. It’s absurd for this lawyer to use the crimes known to have been committed by Nchito, M’membe and Kabimba as the basis of defense for his own client. And why in the world does he opt to discuss the matter of his client in the media? Is he soliciting the public for sympathy or not?

  50. Amsterdam Iam sure that as a lawyer you must know that you are defending one of Zambia’s most corrupt Presidents. Although I am happy with you exposing Nchito and Mmembe whom most of us Zambians already know to be equally corrupt in morals, Iam not happy with you issuing threats from Europe. You are acting like the colonialists who thought we dont think. Just come down here and sort your client out. Tell him to cooperate with investigators if he is convinced he is innocent.

  51. Were he the smart lawyer that he purports to be, Mr. Robert Armsterdam ought to have realised that, contrary to his assertion in the article above, the once “… sensationalist headlines in the media” as he has chosen to call them, have not in fact disappeared and forgotten about. But have instead developed into real time investigations being carried out by legitimate and well established investigative wings of the Zambian government, such as the ACC. Would an intelligent lawyer refer to such a development in a client’s case as “… fundamental lack of substance”? I dare say, let RB and family investigate this lawyer’s credentials….

  52. What should have spoken “volumes” to Mr. Armsterdam is the fact that his client was overwhelmingly rejected by the Zambian voters at the ballot box, this after a mere three-year stint at the helm of power! That was quite uncharacteristic of Africans and Zambians in particular, to have been so harsh. Shouldn’t this speak volumes to Mr. Armsterdam, that his client is not Mr. Righteous and that RB may need more than just panadol but a possible strong dose of RVs?

  53. There is a lot on Robert Amsterdam on Tony Cartalucci’s blog, Land Destroyer Report.

    Google: “robert amsterdam” land destroyer

    Tony Cartalucci has described the similar stunts he has pulled in Thailand, supporting Thaksin Shinawatra.

    His lawfirm, Amsterdam & Peroff, is a corporate member of the Royal Institute for International Affairs (RIIA), founded by Lord Cecil, commonly known for it’s location, Chatham House.

    Chatham House is the British equivalent of the David Rockefeller associated Council on Foreign Relations (CFR) in the USA.

    My guess is that his ties also run to De Beers (R*thschild), which also a Chatham House corporate member, as is the BBC.

    • Robert Amsterdam’s Russian client, Mikhail Khodorkovsky, is a business parter of Baron Jacob R*thschild, father of Nat R*thschild (who, through his own appointees, controls the board of Glencore International PLC, which now controls 49% of South Sudan’s oil through Nilepet).

      I want to know what Rupiah Banda and his sons connection to the R*thschilds is, that they end up with a lawyer like Robert Amsterdam.

      Inquiring minds want to know.

  54. Per Mr. Armsterdam, Mutembo Nchito’s $3 million debt should be RB’s passport to immunity and exemption from any form of investigation and possible prosecution. What absurdity!…Certainly, not what one would have expected to hear from an iconic British lawyer. Does this article bear the right authorship?

  55. Armsterdam is a crook he has no write to address us period.The former head of State should know what is expected of him how on earth could MMD spent billions of Money on the last years general elections campaign ? please let us remove the immunity of Former President he and his family should account for their shortcomings

  56. This is degenerating into some kind of an ugly dog fight – a tooth for a tooth and a bite for a bite? The defense lawyer is aggressively throwing punches and dirt smear at the prosecution, not the type of punches and smear typically mated by the defense. Can it be presumed from this that the defense is getting desperate?

  57. What baffles my mind is why should a former President (RB) with immunity would rush to hire a foreign attorney at the expense of our Zed lawyers? Chiluba with all the charges levelled against him never departed to denounce and fight the Govt from outside and using the foreign lawyers. It is a well known fact that Mr. RB was a poor man before being yanked from his small farm whom within three years of being in power his wife had a trust fund running into miilions of dollars. If your the respectable former prez had the love of Zambia at heart, wouldn’t he engage Zambian lawyers who upon receiving payament will also share it with fellow zambians. How patriotic for the RB! The PF Govt may be vindictive, but on trying to ask RB to explain his sudden riches, I fully support them. Why…

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