FORMER president Edgar Lungu yesterday justified the source of his wealth and that of his family members saying before becoming a politician, he was a happening lawyer.
The former president has continued to cry persecution in the wake of a crackdown by authorities on his family members accusations of corruption and possession of dubiously-acquired property.
Only last week, Lungu’s wife Esther, daughter Chiyeso and nephew Charles Phiri were arrested by the Drug Enforcement Commission (DEC) for money laundering and possession of properties reasonably suspected to be proceeds of crime.
Lungu’s other daughter Tasila was also due to appear before DEC but was unavailable while a year ago, his son Dalitso and wife were arrested for possession of 21 vehicles and fixed assets worth over K31 million.
In the wake of the crackdown, the former president has repeatedly insisted that he was the source of his family wealth and authorities must leave his family members and instead deal with him.
He repeated the sentiments in an interview with Voice of America last evening.
Lungu attributed the source of his family’s wealth and properties to the money he made as a lawyer asserting that he made a lot of money at the time.
Lungu’s statement comes 14 years after the Law Association of Zambia (LAZ) suspended his practicing licence for stealing the money of his widowed client back in 2010.
The former president accused Government of mistreating his family despite knowing that he was the one who helped the family acquire properties.
“I was a lawyer before I became a politician and not just any other lawyer I was a top notch lawyer so I made a lot of money and I brought my children into business and they began working on their own and so did my wife,” boasted Lungu.
“How we acquired the money is there for people to see. There’s a track record
from my practice as a lawyer and a politician. This didn’t come over night.”
He revealed that the authorities have not bothered to ask how much his salary was when he saved as a lawyer.
Lungu cried that all he ever did was help his family out of poverty by empowering them with businesses which blossomed into the properties they currently own.
“My wife was unemployed, she was dependent on me and I was supporting her like every other person supports their wife. And when you support them and they utilise that money and they even tell the law enforcement that this was the person who gave us this, why can’t they ask the person how much their salary was?” he wondered.
When asked about the things he is currently condemning in the country which obviously happened during his tenure, Lungu justified his party’s thuggery that just because it happended in his tenure doesn’t mean he can’t condemn it.
Lungu disclosed that unlike what most people think, he is actually in a better position of advising President Hakainde Hichilema as he came before him.
By Catherine Pule
Kalemba, June 4, 2024
One zombia one nation long live lunch and HH so u see me being the president one day so I united the two of u