The Zambian presidency has been caught up in an embarrassing photo scandal after it admitted to using stolen photos and posting them on President Edgar Lungu’s personal Facebook page.
President Lungu had posted a photo showing works on the Mazabuka road which later emerged that they were stolen from Nigeria and President Lungu had to apologize and posted fresh photos.
The new photos were also detected to have been used by an Ethiopian road project in 2019, a situation which sent some social media users in Zambia in over drive to check the authenticity of other photos sitting on both the State House and President Lungu’s social media pages.
It was later discovered that another photo which President Lungu posted to depict the success of the Aquaculture project was also stolen.
Former State House Spokesman Dickson Jere has since called for the sacking of those responsible for managing President Lungu’s Facebook page.
“I rarely comment on the work of State House – media team – because I once served in that role and I understand the pressure and difficulties that come with those jobs. However, certain mistakes can never be forgiven. One such is this one where the Presidential handlers used picture of road construction from another country saying it was in Zambia! Just how?”
“State House has two full-time photographers backed by ZANIS team. How can one embarrass the Head of State in this manner and still keep the job? My brother Isaac Chipampe ought to be firm and make sure those running the Facebook page of the President are read a “riot act”.”
“My comment is actually triggered by the fact that I am a practicing Intellectual Property (IP) lawyer and one of the things we frown upon badly is plagiarism!”
He added, “You cannot use someone’s work without attributing it to the author. What if Zambia is sued???? This is embarrassing to say the least and will soon go viral on the international press. We need to respect the office of the President and maintain the required decorum.”
Mr. Jere said using someone’s picture from another country is simply unforgivable.
State House has since update the post with the real images below
The way PF cadres brag that they are on the ground and in touch with masses and what’s happening in the country, the way PF cadres mock those on social media that they are not in touch with masses on the ground, then boooom the PF that is on the ground and in touch with masses busy downloading roads from Nigeria and claiming that it is what they found on their campaign working visit in mazabuka. And people are still wondering why they were boooooed, boooooooooooo, booooooooooo
As long as you are in public office everything you do is in public. This isn’t just a small mistake but an indication that Edgar isn’t in charge. Everyone is doing as they wish, there’s no control. Edgar is only attentive when he hears whispers about his departure next year, that’s his preoccupation. Whatever he does he’s got about a year to leave State House
No need for anyone to be fired. There are more serious acts that hv been committed and no action has been taken. Why should a mere picture mix-up attract sanctions?
Well if anyone doubted the incompetence and dishonesty of pf, here is a tiny illistration. This was not a mix up. Someone deliberately downloaded pictures off the internet and posted them, claiming they where something they are not with intent to decieve. After getting caught, they went back and downloaded other pictures for the same purpose. After being caught again, they have nothing to say. This epitomises pf. An incompetent dishonest bunch. Thats why chitotela and chilufya are still ministers. pf is even worse than ZANUPF in zimbabwe. Atleast Mnangagwa fired the health minister for alleged corruption. Here thieves continue to steal with lungu’s blessing.
We are dealing with a career kleptomaniac. If he can lie about this, one wonders what else we don’t know. Zambia please let’s vote this guy out in 2021
That’s because nothing is happening, trying to justify nothing with picture to make the most useless and thieving useless w@nker of a president to some who actually works, the loser does nothing apart from steal, if you sit next to the loser he might steal your under wear because stealing is in born for this dull useless moron with scattered teeth.
Lungu is a career thief ……he has been defrauding and stealing all his life.,….
When stealing and embezzling public resources becomes the new normal nothing else matters. Just shameless. It’s beyond shameful.
KZ, explain……….as we await Sunday Chanda and Antonio to blame HH
KZ,WHAT IS YOUR COMMENT ON THIS? THIS IS A TOTAL SCAM.ECL,HAS DUG HIMSELF A GRAVE CZ HE HAS SURROUNDED HIMSELF WITH ALOT OF RIFF RAFFS LIKE LUSAMBO,KZ,TOLE RED LIP CHANDA ETC WHO DON’T MEAN WELL TO THE PEOPLE OF ZAMBIANS.
The emperor is now changing his clothes in public. Ifyabupuba fyacilamo nomba. This is enough guys. We cannot set up a circus in the highest office of the land. It doesn’t make any sense!
The small minds concentrate on the trivial issues or rather errors which have been rectified. Has anyone gone to the supposed sites and looked to see if no development has taken place there? The projects are taking off and that is the main thing. Media teams, including this same lusaka times on so many occasions use other photos to illustrate articles. So to me it is very childish, as expected from a party that runs away from parliament, to concentrate on trivial pictures rather than the actual situation on these sites.go and see for yourself and take pictures and prove us wrong , I wait
These shameless people can not even manage a social media page…really laughable…plagiarism is a serious offence. Anyway Lazy Lungu tolerates mediocrity as he is a myopic leader there by chance.
This matter cannot be trivialised in whatever way one looks at it. One of them is the case of plagiarism. Wait until the owner or owners of those photos pop up and sue then those that want to trivialise this matter will realize the gravity. State House is too big to be caught up into such
What do you expect from a party that RIGS ELECTIONS, with the high levels of desperation expect more.
This is what you get when you admire other people’s work instead of making a mark for yourselves. It was obvious that it wasn’t a Zambian road. The subbase was a give away. There is no pride in our civil engineering possibly because their hands are tied by the people cooking the books. We should be ashamed of ourselves. The next elections should include a referendum to include life imprisonment for those charged with corruption. We are tired mwe!
Lungu and Dora are an embarrassment
A mistake is one where you accidentally do something you did not intend to do. Foolishness is when you open your browser, search for road projects, download a photo and publish it on your page as your work, after getting busted apologize, make another foolish mistake busted again. Foolishness is when you accuse Japan to have donated Bicycles, they say no, again u claim it was a mistake? No PF it has just become hard to hide the truth, everything is coming to light. Start packing and prepare to exit office, prison is awaiting you criminals
Lets assign those Nigerian road engineers to come and do our roads, they have quality road projects look at the thickness of their road compared to the one in Mazabuka, thin like a razor blade no-wander we continue crying for new roads everyday.
Scandal? That’s exagerrated. A scandal would be if no road construction works existed at all..
Zambians – very good at finding faults among their own people but won’t do anything when they suffer wrong at the hands of foreigners. What are you doing about South Africa, where tour agents freely use images of the Victora Falls to promote their tourism industry?
Edgar lungu is not in touch with reality.
Plagiarism at its worst example. Just what was wrong with taking our own pictures sure – mpaka Nigerian rubbish when we can showcase our own. This level of crookery and deceit is unimaginable – just who does that in all fairness.
PF must leave the stage!!!! NOW.
Real disaster!!!
They took a huge delegation along to ‘inspect projects’ but forgot the cameraman?
Lungi is a FRAUD from A to Z. Does anyone wonder why he Loves lawlessness and being surrounded by thugs? He does not love thinkers because he is not their for good reasons. He is their to loot with the thugs that surround him. Lungi can only survive where lawlessness exist. Start preparing, 2021 is going to be very rough and tough. If you need to get a bull Dozer this is the time to start organising one. Lungu has never been presidential material!! I don’t know what Zambians saw in him to make him president. A humble thief is no better than any other thief.
Since we are now downloading infrastructure, Please down schools, hospitals and electricity as well.
It’s part of bill 10,mwalamwenako bamwankole, Kamuzwa mwatusabila
What else is being peddled in the name of the President?
Now you phone RDA for the real thing??…… Journalism is for journalists as you say?? Please, now pull down that advert as well.
THE article claims that the images were stolen from Nigeria? Ha! It took me one click to find out the images are from North Carolina. The images were taken in June, 2018. This just goes to show how lazy journalism in Zambia is the order of the day.
Now you know why Anonymous calls Edgar Lungu Bandit President….dull PF Bandits they dont know that you can run pictures and trace its originality…..i personally verify all images depicting my construction work in Zambia…Bandit Lungu caught red handed
@Kampa Sekwe
The landscape doesn’t look African….it could be North Carolina….LT time stamped it with their own logo….this is fraud
Heads must roll. This is bringing the office of the president to disrepute. I repeat head must roll.
The so called new photos are from Somali and the Somalian PM is livid that Lungu has stolen his photos. Do not piss Somalians ! See his facebook page, he is very very angry!
Kaiser my mbuya calm down , a decent man when he makes a mistake or an error
Apologies and promise to learn from that error.
In my beloved country when my mbuya you talk about education and its syndrome of fear and brainless.
We can argue over my damn analysis of my educated elite who are now the frontiers of destruction of every fibre of this country.
The KK times ,we saw and witnessed people leaving positions as ministers with not even a house built. They believed in building the country rather what we are seeing day light massive corruption which has now destroyed the future generations.
I wish one day , people involved in these massive destruction of imiti ikula could be taken on by the youngs as their future is in peril.
Balungu bufi bwalikwata amolu bwaba nge fumo…
Not good, but hardly worth accusing the president directly. He puts out a communique which is then published. It’s firmly the undisciplined and unprofessional conduct if the team managing the Facebook. I wonder if they are digitally savvy. That’s the daftest thing ever! You only have to Google the picture to find the original! What were they thinking?
It’s actually a copyright breach not plagiarism as such.
@Nine Chale …It is a scandal. One of many. You think this is not serious? This is a tip of the ice-berg in the general framework of the lying and fraudulent regime. Even campaigning, while you actively use the State machinery to stop others doing the same, is fraud. Buying things at inflated prices and lying about it. Not respecting court judgements is ‘theft of justice’. Need we say more or list all the lies and despicable behaviours of this regime?
I suppose the Nigerian pictures depicted more solid roads than what we are constructing.
They are scared of displaying their work, because chinese roads are made out of soil, mad and painted with Asphalt on top.
Zambians have seen the chinese road works. They have a life span of 1 week. A Govt of thieves and liers.
Fake pictures from a fake president. Shame on you, Edgar China Lungu – you can’t do anything right, not even hiding your incompetence
After all is said and done.
Its PF100%
ECL 100%
The Patriots 100%
Zambia overdrive 100%.
This can never be a mistake or trivial as clueless fvcking Kaizer appears to suggest .This was aimed at taking Zambians for a fool that the roads these thugs are building is value for money when in actual fact money is being pocketed by these shamelsess scumbags.