Zambia’s Former First Lady Foundation Raided

THE Esther Lungu Foundation was last week raided and searched by a combined team of law enforcement agencies consisting of Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC), Drug Enforcement Commission (DEC) and the Zambia Police.

The team searched the Trust offices before breaking in a container where they only found wheelchairs.

A Trust official confirmed that the investigative officers raided their offices.
PF vice president Given Lubinda who also confirmed the development said it was sad that in trying to pin down the former republican President, Mr Edgar Lungu, the investigative wings have continued with their no-knock raids and searches of properties belonging to innocent individuals who are closer to him.

In an interview, Mr Lubinda said last week, a combined team of officers from the Zambia Police, ACC and DEC raided and conducted a search at a Trust run by President Lungu’s wife, Esther, where they broke in and only found wheelchairs.

But when contacted for a comment, both ACC and Police spokespersons, Queen Chibwe and Rae Hamoonga expressed ignorance of the raid and search of the Esther Lungu Foundation Trust.

Mr Lubinda, who apologised to Mr Lungu and his family for making it public said it was important for the nation to know what was happening to the former first family.

“It is so painful that Mrs Lungu for instance, everybody knows that she was running the Esther Lungu Foundation Trust. About a week or so ago, Police, DEC, and ACC went and broke the lock open of a container in which she was keeping wheelchairs,” Mr Lubinda said.

He explained that the workers who were found at the foundation told officers to wait for the keys but they broke it saying they had no time to wait for the person to bring the key.

“They broke the lock open and only found the wheelchairs. Is that humane? It that the way to treat each other, more especially the former Head of State?” Mr Lubinda asked.

Mr Lubinda has also disclosed that several associates of President Lungu were on the run because of politically-motivated persecution by the new dawn government.

He said most of Mr Lungu’s associates were in hiding for fear of being harmed or killed.