Metro

‘Your internal crisis self-inflicted,’ Zambian Presidency replies PF

Published

4 months ago

July 5, 2024

The Zambian Presidency has responded to the country’s main opposition party, the Patriotic Front (PF), over its allegations that President Hakainde Hichilema had a hand in its internal crisis using the parliament.

While reacting to the accusations, State House Chief Communications Specialist, Clayson Hamasaka, urged the PF to stop dragging Hichilema into their internal wrangling, stating that the crisis was self-inflicted as the president had no involvement in their affairs.

In a statement issued in Lusaka on Thursday, Hamasaka said the president was currently “occupied with resolving significant national issues created by the same people currently engaged in internal conflicts.”

The presidential aide emphasized that it had never been Hichilema’s intention to interfere in how other political parties conduct their business.

“We have seen insinuations and attempts to drag the Republican President, Hakainde Hichilema, into the ongoing PF leadership wrangles, especially following the expulsion of nine of their Members of Parliament,” the statement said.

Hamasaka added that one of the President’s strongest pillars is his commitment to order and the rule of law in the country, and his views on by-elections were well known.

“The President has repeatedly called on stakeholders to provide recommendations on how to address this issue to avoid by-elections and save resources.

“The PF exercised its legal and constitutional rights to expel their members from Parliament according to the provisions of their party constitution,” Hamasaka said.

He recalled that the party later took matters to the courts, resulting in the expulsion of their nine Members of Parliament.

Hamasaka stated that when a decision such as this results from the PF’s self-inflicted wrangles, the President’s hands are tied despite his personal views against by-elections.

“There is no way the President can interfere with the independent arms of government, such as Parliament and the Judiciary,” he insisted.

He also noted that if the President attempted to interfere with the provisions of the Constitution, the same accusers would turn around and accuse him again.

“The President had demonstrated a willingness to push for legislative reforms, including the defamation of the President and abolishing the death penalty, which did not require constitutional amendments.”

Hamasaka also remarked that the internal wrangles between the PF factional presidents have been ongoing since the demise of the late President Michael Sata.

“Whether they fight, reconcile, fight again and then turn to the courts for arbitration, President Hichilema has no business with that. They should resolve their issues and leave the Republican President out of it,” Hamasaka stated.

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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.