ATTORNEY General Mumba Malila says Auditor General Annie Chfungula cannot be sued in her personal capacity for revealing that a public officer allegedly misappropriated constituency development funds (CDF).
Mr Malila said this was so because the Auditor General was merely performing her functions on behalf of the nation.
Mr Malila said that if Labour deputy minister Ronald Chitotela and Agriculture and Livestock deputy minister Rodgers Mwewa were not happy with Ms Chifungula’s allegations against then, the legal action should be taken against him and not Ms Chifungula.
Mr Chitotela and Mr Mwewa have been quoted in some sections of media as having issued threats to take legal action against Ms Chfungula for citing them in the alleged fraudulent buying of ambulances in their Pambashe and Mwasabombwe constituencies respectively.
But Mr Malila said in an interview yesterday that Ms Chifungula was holding a Constitutional office and as such all the work that she was doing was being done on behalf of the Zambian government.
Mr Chitotela and Mr Mwewa were last week cited in the irregular purchase of “write off” vehicles as ambulances, the allegations the two deputy ministers have denied and have instead threatened legal action against Ms Chifungula.
Mr Malila said it was only his office that could be answerable to the legal action by the deputy ministers and not Ms Chifungula in her personal capacity.
Mr Malila explained that Ms Chifungula did not work for personal purpose but was doing it on behalf of the nation.
When asked whether Mr Chitotela and Mr Mwewa had the right to sue after being cited for financial irregularities, Mr Malila said the duo has to prove that the allegations made by the auditor general were unfounded.
He however that if the allegations were found not to be correct, the deputy ministers would have cause to take legal action against the government by suing him because they were entitled to the protection of their reputation and integrity.
“ They will have to show that the published report against them is inaccurate but in any case, they will be suing Attorney General and not Ms Chifungula in her personal capacity because she is just doing her work on behalf of the Zambian government” Mr Malila said.
UKO
Sensible
But Deputy ministers are also constitutional offices, does it mean Mumba Malila will represent Chitotela and Rodgers since they were performing government duties.
He has spoken sense for the first time since his appointment as Attorney General
No Deputy Ministers and indeed Ministers do not hold constitutional office their tenure of service is at the ‘pleasure of the appointing authority’….the only constiutional office ar the Attorney General, the Director of Public Prosecution, Solicitor General, Auditor General…..I wonder why the Accountant General is not amongst these, Judges of the Supreme and High Court..etc….not those elected on political grounds to serve….
Agreed.
Mr Malila, you are also holding a constitutional office in which you are suppose to be working on behalf of us Zambians but of late you have being working against us instead, it like now you a lawyer for the PF.
Chitotela very dull boy! Always want to threaten Civil Servants even those that did not work in the Ministry of Labour, threatening Police sentries who were not saluting him! Manje azanya! Ba Sata bakuchita bwino! useless cadre, in 2016 you shall not be adopted! Ndipo uzayonda bululu!
”They will have to show that the published report against them is inaccurate but in any case….”
the two deputies do not want to take the correct procedure of showing that information from AG is inaccurate, because they know the truth. All they want to do is a dochi kubeba type of not following procedure and getting away with such cases. They have both gone quite upon being asking to provided the information to correct the perceived wrong information. typical of their kind, they are taking things in a personal manner.