{"id":82871,"date":"2023-09-06T09:35:57","date_gmt":"2023-09-06T07:35:57","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/zimbabwe\/all-news\/zambian-police-summon-former-first-lady-esther-lungu"},"modified":"2023-09-06T13:12:31","modified_gmt":"2023-09-06T11:12:31","slug":"zambian-police-summon-former-first-lady-esther-lungu","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.cc\/zimbabwe\/all-news\/zambian-police-summon-former-first-lady-esther-lungu","title":{"rendered":"Zambian Police Summon Former First Lady Esther Lungu"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><span style=\"color: #ff6600\"><strong>Africa-Press &#8211; Zimbabwe. <\/strong><\/span>Zambia\u2019s former First Lady Esther Lungu has been summoned by police for an interview on September 6 at 10 AM. The specific reasons for the police\u2019s interest in her have not been disclosed.<\/p>\n<p>This summons comes as her husband, former President Edgar Lungu, attended the inauguration of Zimbabwean President Emmerson Mnangagwa on September 4, 2023, in Harare, Zimbabwe.<\/p>\n<p>Raphael Nakacinda, the PF Information and Publicity Chairperson, alleges that President Hakainde Hichilema instructed the police to summon Esther Lungu after observing the warm reception Lungu received at Mnangagwa\u2019s inauguration ceremony.<\/p>\n<p>Hichilema, who currently chairs the SADC troika, had deployed election observers who determined that Zimbabwe\u2019s harmonised election did not meet regional and international standards. It seems that Mnangagwa extended the invitation to Lungu as a response to Hichilema\u2019s boycott of the inauguration.<\/p>\n<p>According to Joseph Kalimbwe, a Zambian politician, author, and activist, the police should pursue former President Lungu directly. Kalimbwe, who held leadership positions in the African Union youth simulation in 2014 and the student representative council of the University of Namibia in 2017, made this statement on X (formerly Twitter). He said:<\/p>\n<p>Lungu\u2019s wife has just been summoned to appear before the Zambia Police Tomorrow morning. Next, we must go for Lungu himself. We must never let any person undermine our institutions. Equally external forces must understand !!!<\/p>\n<p>In May of this year, the Zambian police surrounded the residence of former President Edgar Lungu, demanding to search it as part of a corruption investigation. Raphael Nakacinda stated that the police forcibly entered the former president\u2019s home in Lusaka. She said at the time:<\/p>\n<p>It\u2019s not only unconstitutional, but criminal \u2014 this government never to respect the supreme law of the land, which is the constitution, which confers the former president with immunity.<\/p>\n<p>The police action occurred ten months after Zambia\u2019s anti-money laundering agency summoned former First Lady Esther Lungu regarding her ownership of 15 luxury flats in Lusaka. Investigators suspected that the apartments were acquired through illicit means. The Lungus, through the Patriotic Front party spokesman, denied any wrongdoing. No charges were filed, and Lungu\u2019s lawyer confirmed that the matter was closed.<\/p>\n<p>Critics argue that the government\u2019s anti-corruption campaign is being employed to target and intimidate political opponents. Several officials who served under former President Lungu have been arrested, and his family members have been questioned.<\/p>\n<p>President Hakainde Hichilema has refuted allegations that his anti-corruption efforts are aimed at opponents. Hichilema\u2019s United Party for National Development defeated Lungu\u2019s party in 2021. Hichilema and Lungu are set to compete for the presidency in 2026.<\/p>\n<p><strong>For More News And Analysis About <a href=\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/zimbabwe\">Zimbabwe<\/a> Follow <a href=\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/\">Africa-Press<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Africa-Press &#8211; Zimbabwe. Zambia\u2019s former First Lady Esther Lungu has been summoned by police for an interview on September 6 at 10 AM. The specific reasons for the police\u2019s interest in her have not been disclosed. This summons comes as her husband, former President Edgar Lungu, attended the inauguration of Zimbabwean President Emmerson Mnangagwa on [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":84,"featured_media":82870,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3,12],"tags":[1493,2189,5912,19],"class_list":{"0":"post-82871","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-all-news","8":"category-policy","9":"tag-africa-press","10":"tag-africa-press-zimbabwe-2","11":"tag-edgar-lungu","12":"tag-zimbabwe"},"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO Premium plugin v24.1 (Yoast SEO v24.1) - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>Zambian Police Summon Former First Lady Esther Lungu - zimbabwe<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Zambia\u2019s former First Lady Esther Lungu has been summoned by police for an interview on September 6 at 10 AM. 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