Hundreds of demonstrators took to the streets of the Zambian capital Lusaka on Friday in support of a new anti-corruption drive announced in parliament by President Levy Mwanawasa.
As a court freed two journalists and two opposition politicians arrested last year on charges of defaming the former president, Frederick Chiluba, university students and members of civic action groups marched to the presidential residence to back Mwanawasa’s call on parliament to vote for his predecessor’s presidential immunity to be lifted.
”This is just the beginning,” said Grace Kanyanga, a Womens’ Organisation committee member: ”We want Mwanawasa to make sure that the money which the former leaders stole is brought back.”
In the city centre, hundreds of both ruling Movement for Multiparty Democracy (MMD) and opposition youths marched along the main highway. ”Chiluba should be caged for having brought misery to this country,” said Charles Kakana of the MMD youth wing.
Mwanawasa told protesters at State House on Friday he would not to relent in his fight against corruption, and pledged to ensure that those convicted would reimburse the government. Parliament will debate the immunity issue next week.
However, some civic leaders close to Chiluba are calling on Mwanawasa to step down, alleging he was a beneficiary: ”It is common knowledge that Mwanawasa used the same stolen money for his presidential campaign,” said Alfred Zulu of the Zambia Independent Monitoring Team: ”He needs to step down on moral grounds.”
But Mwanawasa said those calling for him to step down
were the ones who were corrupt, because he himself had not been in government when he was adopted as MMD presidential candidate.
Newspapers in Zambia endorsed Mwanawasa’s speech to
parliament.
”When a government undertakes a job like the one Mwanawasa’s administration has undertaken to deal with a tandem of thieves that has looted national coffers, it deserves support,” the privately-owned Post newspaper said in its editorial. A similar sentiment was expressed by the state-owned Zambia Daily Mail.
Earlier, Fred Mmembe, editor of The Independent, his reporter Bivan Saluseki, and opposition members of parliament, Dipak Patel and Edith Nawakwi, were freed by a magistrate after months behind bars following the publication of an article in which Chiluba was called a ”thief”.
The Anti Corruption Commission (ACC) meanwhile on Friday re-arrested the ex-intelligence chief, Xavier Chungu, on further charges of abuse of office and corrupt practices. Chungu served as intelligence chief throughout Chiluba’s 10 years as president.
The court actions were the latest in a series of dramatic events this week as Mwanaswasa (53) a lawyer and politician who won the presidential election in January, ratcheted up the pressure on the former president.
Mwanaswasa, who resigned from the Chiluba government in the mid-1990s citing its corruption, on Thursday accepted the resignation of foreign minister Katele Kalumba, a hold-over from the Chiluba cabinet whom he accused in parliament of dubious business practices.
Hours after Mwanaswasa’s speech to parliament, the ACC also announced the arrest in Lusaka of Atan Shansonga, Zambia’s ambassador to the United States. A representative said he would appear in court later on Friday. – Sapa-AFP