A government takeover of over 20 properties connected to Zambia’s former president Edgar Lungu has been described by his attorney as a political witch hunt.
The president of Zambia at the moment has cracked down on corruption, but detractors claim that he is single out political rivals.
The Lungu family’s properties were formally taken by the government last week. There are 15 two-story flats there, a lodge with three stories, a farm, and a house.
The properties were taken under the 2010 Forfeiture of Proceeds of Crimes Law, which gives the state the right to take possession of property it thinks was obtained unlawfully.
Makebi Zulu, the attorney for the former president Lungu, told newsmen that neither he nor his clients had received any notice of any proceedings involving the asset seizures before any court.
Zulu asserted that his clients have given adequate justification for how they acquired the homes in his conversations with law enforcement authorities since the investigation’s start last year. He claimed that the state is purposefully suppressing the information in order to humiliate Lungu, his wife Esther, and their kids.
“We are confident that we are standing on firm ground. Our clients are innocent of everything that they are alleging,” Zulu said. “As a matter of fact, we are disappointed that they’re not getting down to investigate matters as they ought to.”
