Former First Lady Esther Lungu has been released from police custody after former President Edgar Lungu made a determined stand at the police station in Lusaka’s Ibex residential area. It was reported that the former President even entered the holding cells where his wife was detained.
The situation escalated when a significant number of Patriotic Front (PF) cadres and opposition political leaders began converging on the police station.
Mrs. Lungu was eventually released at approximately 21:00 hours local time.
This development unfolded against the backdrop of charges brought against Mrs. Lungu, including theft of motor vehicles, which had garnered significant attention and raised questions about the circumstances and implications of these charges.
While Mrs. Lungu’s release is a significant turn of events, investigations into the charges against her and her co-accused are expected to continue, and legal proceedings will determine the outcome of these allegations. The former First Lady was officially charged and arrested by the police on multiple counts, including theft of a motor vehicle. She faces three charges of Theft of Motor Vehicle, alongside four other individuals.
The co-accused in this case are James Phiri (49 years old), Lee Chisulo (31 years old), Kapambwe Lungu (42 years old), and Catherine Banda (30 years old), all residents of Lusaka.
In addition to the theft of motor vehicles, the group is also charged with one count of Theft of a Certificate of Title for a property located in Lusaka’s Libala South. Furthermore, Mrs. Lungu has been charged with the offense of Possession of Property Believed to be Proceeds of Crime.
Are these coincidences? Edgar Lungu attends the inauguration of Mnangagwa and he’s given a thunderous welcome. The following day his wife is arrested. A police bond is denied on the instructions by the inspector general. There are so many arrests in the country and never have I heard of the IG giving instructions. Oh at first the datestamp went missing so the wouldn’t be done. Next a policeman is complaining ” baletukosesha incito”. Who’s making their job difficult?
The timing was a political move from State House, done to change the narratives by directing the energy & wind away from the most important subject that got announced yesterday, which the painful decision to hand back KCM to Vedanta. HH’s conscience on the Vedanta is corrupted, full of pain and regret. Seven wise cabinet members dont agree with the mining decision. But he had to do it, out of his own making. The fight on corruption that he preaches outside Zambia, which has given him international standing and honorary doctorate degrees does NOT equal to what is on the ground. It’s a ghost, joke and very selective.
Independent Observer, corporate control is exercised through share ownership. Vedanta Resources still owns the majority of shares in KCM. Please accept that bitter truth. If you wanted the government to acquire control of KCM, it would have meant buying put Vedanta Resources. How much more are you prepared to be taxed in order for government to raise the cash to buy out Vedanta Resources? Don’t just yap, spread some light as well so that people can understand.
Let this be a lesson to divorcee Tarino that whether your wife ni kabwalala you must stand behind her. The silver lining in Thief Lungu’s dark adventures
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Stop pretending………
The lungus are theives
Do you let the off or investigate them and charge them ?
Iwe chipumbu we know about the case and we are not disputing. It’s the timing…. which points to the confused person being involved…. your man is now acting weird. Each time Lungu does or says something, arrests start flowing like the Victoria falls in the rain season.
It’s not about Lungu being a thief it’s about your master being petty and vindictive. The other day at one of those kindergarten rallies he complained about the PF regrouping. Honestly which law forbids people from regrouping?
Just sort the kwacha and mealie meal.
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What wrong with the president complaing about the regroup of PF taking advantage of the chaos they caused in the first place ???
The release of a suspect from a holding cell at 21 hours shows weaknesses and compromises in the fight against crime.It also indicates some semblance of vitimization.It shows that Esther should not have been detained in the first place
She was released after a congregation of PF……….
she was released to avoid a deadly confrontation………
Weak incompetent politically driven police. Completely no ethics except what the president orders
I hope the investigators and prosecutors are up to the task. Let the trial begin and the first charge should be the 400, 000 US dollars suspected to be proceeds of crime.
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Some sources are claiming lungu is the richest man in zambia……….
That would explain why PF are clamouring around him like flies……….
Edgar Lungu advised his daughter Tasila to withdraw the civil proceedings she commenced against News Diggers newspaper together with Given Lubinda and Jean Kapata. Tasila is facing Mutembo Nchito in those proceedings and Lungu knows Mutembo’s ability. He was going to get Tasila to admit the family’s criminality during cross-examination. In Esther Lungu’s prosecution, Edgar Lungu will of course testify for her if the state succeeds in persuading the court to put her on defence. During cross-examination, a good prosecutor can get Edgar Lungu. The state has records of what it paid Lungu when he was President. There’s the whole issue of gifts Presidents get while in office and which ones can be personalised and which ones become state property.
Spaka.President Lungu should not have been allowed to camp at the police station at that hour.That was allowing lawlessnes in itself.PF is a lawless party.It is a well known fact.Why should police be scared of a gathering mob in the night,Now the mob has scored a point
MuZambian
I agree……….
GRZ should clear a whole prison and pack all PF supporters who go ready to offer solidarity to criminal suspects……….
What a lie! Between both thieves, Lungu and HH its the cowherder who stole more
Lance Corporal
Lungu had his chance to prove HH stole ……….came up empty, infact 4 GRZeds came up empty……
Now it is HHs turn to prove lungu stole……….
What a lie! We all know HH is richer than Lungu. Both thieves should openly declare their wealth
He may be rich but he dare not show his wealth
so it could be dead money for many years
Is theft of a motor vehicle bailable? Let’s interrogate that law for now. Whether uncle Esther is being victimised here or not many be inconsequential to what the law provides. We saw that auntie HH was tried for treason for a traffic offense which was caused by his driver. He was not given bail as per penal code. Why then is uncle Esther out on bail now?
#Uncle Spider… the case is not bailable or bondable. The fact that she’s been released on bond just confirms that these are just trampled charges. She didn’t steal the car she just grabbed it from the person she asked to keep the money for her. The person failed to return the money. Lungu had a thunderous welcome in Harare and I am sure this infuriated our god who instructed the IG to resurrect this case.
The only case Esther can be charged with is the possession of money which source is suspect.
Whether there is merit in this case or not, why has she been released from police cells?
Uncle Spider that’s what I have explained…why has she been released? She’s not supposed to be released unless there’s no case at all… anyway it’s all muddled in political quagmire.
She isn’t supposed to be released at all, whether there is a case or not. I understand the facts that led to her arrest and must say that, at face value, it appears like this is a civil matter and is an abuse of police. But if they abuse the law and arrest on a non bailable/bondable offence, why release the suspect?
@Deja Vu How about the charge for the obviously illicitly gained flats?
#Lance Corporal… That’s another case for another day. My concern is releasing a suspected motor vehicle when the case is non bailable…. Just to add I have been holding a vitz belonging to someone one who owes me money since June 2021. He reported me to the police. The police simply told us ati mumfanefye. He’s now started to pay in bits.
By the way those who were not there… the theft of motor vehicle not bailable was a concoction of Mr Frederick Titus Jacob Chiluba so that he could fix one Mctriboy whom he accused of having an affair with his wife.
DejaFooool was almost correct. Grabing a motor vehicle from a relative would a crime of “Conversion of property not amounting to theft”
Zambia has only three unbailable crimes: Treason, Murder and Robbery; armed and aggravated
And some f00Is are blaming hh. Was hh there when these criminals were committing crimes? Hh is not the police. If she is innocent, let the courts prove so. There is nothing special about her and her lazy husband. Hh is actually a very reasonable and kind man. If it were me who was subjected to what hh went through, by now this thug lungu and his illiterate wlfe would be serving life sentences.
Only sycophant will doubt that your relative was not involved. Why should the police consult the IG on what to do in case which is not bailable? Whether one million PF members camped there for one million days, she was not supposed to be released. She was released because the one interested in the punishment had extracted his measure of revenge.
@Deja Vu Correction: he is not the IG but the PIG
Precedence has been set. 1. Theft of motor vehicle is now bailable/bondable. 2. Police bond can now be processed outside working hours, nothing like “boma yakomboka, ni weekend, mukabwele pa monday.” 3. If a politician is under custody, cadres have a right to assemble at a police station without being clobbered by the police the way the PF police used to hammer the UPND cadres. 4. A spouse has a right to spend a night in cells with a partner, as long as he assembles multitudes of supporters
She becomes the first former 1st Lady to be arrested and detained in police cells. It’s a very bad precedent. More will follow
She also became the first former first lady to have been accused of a serious theft by her own relatives. I guess it is convenient for a f00lish pf cadre like you to leave out that important part of this matter.
Sad
At least she’s not been mentioned in Sako Mine
She also became the first former first lady to have constructed flats from her “salary”
It’s also a very bad precedent for officers that get used in these cases. You can imagine getting arrested for merely executing instructions from above. Those that are serving should learn something from what has happened to their colleagues
Are you speaking from experience? Is that what used to happen whenever hh was arrested and his house raided?
Who said instructions came from above ?
Who the IG
What goes around comes around. A taste of their own bitter medicine
It’s not about revenge. They are merely simple criminals who are now facing the law for their crimes.
Good morning country men and women . As the law been amended for suspects to be released after 16 hrs , if not so why of late i see Fred Membe was released after 20 hrs and Former first lady Ester Lungu after 21hrs ?
Because these arrests are just instructed in order to punish “miscreants” Once they taste the cells dracula has had his blood potion. So he has no use for them.
#Tikki obviously you will not want to know about the IG. The police categorically stated this including the missing date stamp. This is not a bailable case so the police don’t need to consult anyone. Full stop.
Sir, the law was amended way back and this offence is now bailable. Update yourself please so that your criticism is based on correct information.
Who determines and releases a suspect on bail? It is a court. The police can only give a suspect Police bond.
Kindly give us the date when it was amended. Will appreciate
You are a liar. This is not aggravsted robbery. It is different from a theft.
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Lungu is a criminal suspect………..
All his pre presidential and GRZ work was defending criminals and advising them how to dodge the law……….
Alot of Zambian big time criminals of the time had lungu as their lawyer………..
GRZ have to be ontop of their game to cage him…………
He is using his immunity to shield the criminal activities of his family………
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If the lungus are not theives ………..
And the whole PF party
I dont see the problem with them letting investigations run their course………
What are you afraid of ?????
Yah but they shouldnt be arbitrarily arrested
It is against the law of Zambia camping at a Policy Station.
HH has a heart. Thank him very much.
Tarino must have smelled HH’s farts. They say if an elder farts on you, you become insane. Who in his right mind can side with HH today?
KCI must have smelled Esther lungu farts. They say if an elder farts on you, you become insane. Who in his right mind can criticised the rule of law applying fairly to those that abused it during their reign, just because you have a personal hate for HH?
#Tarinofo0l… the problem is you don’t understand what people are complaining against. If Esther stole she just like anyone must face the law. People are complaining on how the process is being abused.
Just watch.. next time Lungu goes to some function or church, or a shopping mall and multitudes surround him, the case against Esther or another member of the Lungu family will come to life.
Dejaf00l, so you want the police to not investigate criminals just because they have recently interacted with their crooked paid supporters in public? This is not pf rule, welcome to the new dawn where the rule of law applies regardless of your status
Dejavu wants to know when the theft of motor vehicle was changed.
When Mwanawasa became president, Sata was slapped with the case of not handing over the government vehicle and he had to spend some months in dentation.
Parliament reviewed the law.