Metro

Zambian cleric Archbishop Phiri bans politicians from speaking in Ndola archdiocese

Published

4 months ago

June 20, 2024

The Metropolitan Archbishop of Ndola, Archbishop Benjamin Phiri, has banned politicians from speaking in any church in the Ndola archdiocese following the disruption of services in the diocese by the police last Sunday.

The newly appointed Archbishop, who condemned the actions of the police, expressed deep concerns over the incident which he described as a blatant violation of the fundamental right to freedom of religion and assembly.

Phiri who bared his mind during a thanksgiving service for the establishment of Ndola as an Archdiocese on Wednesday, also announced a ban on political activities in the church, citing the creation of divisions.

The Archbishop particularly referred to an incident at Divine Mercy Parish where a 66-year-old parishioner, Kamwale Phiri, was arrested for taking photographs of the heavy police presence around the church.

The incident, according to reports, occurred as police were allegedly hounding out opposition leaders including ex-president Edgar Lungu and Citizens First Party leader Harry Kalaba, who were attending services at various churches in the Ndola province.

“If you get any request that this one wants to pray, does he have to announce that he wants to pray? Why can’t he just come and sit in the crowd like everyone else?” Phiri queried while addressing the church.

He emphasized that no politician, whether from the ruling party or opposition, would be allowed to speak anymore because what they do is to bring confusion into the church.

“You are bringing confusion in the house of God. Politicians who want to pray can come to pray but don’t give them a platform to talk. I don’t want to hear that any priest allowed a politician to speak in church,” he stated.

Phiri reiterated that no politician was special, whether from the ruling party or not, and they would no longer get the privilege of preaching hatred in church.

“We are not playing, we are not joking here. I found it strange, and I do not know which law is being used by the police officers for them to detain a congregant without sufficient reasoning,” he stated.

Phiri added that it was not prohibited to take pictures in the country, especially if a person is within their own premises.

“When I was told of the police presence, I asked what the police were looking for and was told it looked like they were looking for opposition leaders. I said the church is the wrong place to look for opposition leaders. I advised my leaders to continue monitoring the situation and report to me,” he said.

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Metro

‘You’re better off in retirement, drinking in peace’, Zambian President taunts predecessor

Published

3 days ago

October 23, 2024

Isaac Dachen

Zambian President, Hakainde Hichilema, has told his predecessor, Edgar Lungu, that he should forget the presidency in 2026 as he is better off in retirement where he can drink in peace.

Hichilema, who spoke to supporters of the ruling United Party for National Development (UPND) in Mazabuka district on Tuesday, told Lungu that his “buttocks are glued” to the presidential seat, advising Lungu to continue “drinking in peace” because his dream of bouncing back to power was unattainable.

He added that he had sympathy for Lungu who has claimed he would return to the political arena.

“He is better off being in retirement so that he can be drinking in peace,” Hichilema said.

“Someone who is drunk wants to come back to the presidency seat. Where will he sit? You drink and get drunk, then you want to come back to the presidency seat, the seat which I have already taken with my buttocks glued to it, so where will he sit?” he wondered.

Hichilema further dismissed Lungu’s aspirations of returning to power as far-fetched, emphasizing, “I’m not leaving anytime soon.”

He recounted watching Lungu rant from a distance, saying he was not moved by his claims because he perceived Lungu as a drunk man.

“When I hear him talking about bouncing back to power, I peep, and I am like, ‘You are drunk; just sit down and continue drinking every day,’” he remarked.

The President insisted that no one would want to return to the era of the Patriotic Front (PF) which he said individuals were beaten for expressing their political beliefs.

“These people want to take away the free education; they want to take away the increased CDF, which was not correct. We cannot allow people who used to beat us just for wearing red,” he stated.

He pointed out that under the PF’s rule, people were arrested simply for being associated with the UPND, but now it was the PF’s turn to face consequences for their violent behavior.

Hichilema also cautioned all UPND members against claiming that he had already won the 2026 election, warning that such assertions could lead to serious trouble.

Metro

Nigeria: EFCC says country loses $500m to cybercrime annually

Published

3 days ago

October 23, 2024

Isaac Dachen

Chairman of Nigeria’s anti-corruption agency, the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), Ola Olukoyede, says the country loses over $500 million annually to various forms of cybercrimes.

Olukoyede, who made the disclosure on Tuesday at the National Cybercrime Summit organised by the EFCC in collaboration with the European Union-funded Rule of Law and Anti-Corruption Programme of the International (IDEA) in Abuja, noted that an estimated $500m was lost to the scourge in 2022, adding that cybercrime suspects got a larger share of the 3,455 convictions recorded by EFCC in his one year in office.

He added that projections by multiple sources show that the global loss to cybercrime may reach a staggering $10.5tn.

“As a matter of fact, the research I did earlier this year confirmed that cybercrime has become the third largest GDP in the world with approximately 2,328 cases occurring daily,” the EFCC boss said.

“The implication of all this is that if left unchecked, cybercrimes pose grave dangers to the entire world.

“Bringing it to Nigeria, in 2022 alone, Nigeria lost over $500 million to cybercrimes. These are the realities driving the commission’s fight against these crimes.

“Cybercrime accounts for a significant percentage of the 3,455 convictions recorded by EFCC in my one year as the Executive Chairman of EFCC.

“A significant portfolio of choice assets has also been recovered and returned to both local and foreign victims of cybercrimes by the commission.

“We are not oblivious of insinuations and misconceptions in some quarters,’ Olukoyede, noting that as part of measures to curb crime, the anti-graft agency was building a cybercrime research centre.

“We are putting up a Cybercrime Research Centre in collaboration with one of the fintechs in Nigeria.

“It’s a centre that will take a minimum of 500 young Nigerians at a time and train them in cyber security and all areas of cybercrime research so that we’ll be able to make something out of them,” he added.