PRESS STATEMENT

FINDINGS ON THE REPORT OF MALAWIANS AND TANZANIANS PURPORTED TO HAVE BEEN REGISTERED AS VOTERS IN EASTERN AND NORTHERN PROVINCES OF ZAMBIA

On 13th May, 2016 a report was made by Mr Garry Nkombo and Mrs Silvia Masebo of the United Party for National Development (UPND) at Woodlands Police Station to the effect that over 500,000 foreigners had been registered by the Electoral Commission of Zambia (ECZ) as voters. This according to their claim was a ECZ calculated act to rig the elections in favour of the Patrotic Front (PF). On 5th July, 2016 the Nation would recall that the Post newspaper edition No 7200 carried a story with a headline "ECZ SOURCES EXPOSE GHOST VOTERS" in which the paper published 207 names of people purported to be foreigners but registered as voters by ECZ.  The edition indicated that 178 were Malawians while 29 were Tanzanians.

Considering the seriousness of the allegations as made by Mr Garry Nkombo and Ms Silvia Masebo and a story carried in this edition of the post newspaper investigations were instituted.

After thorough investigations the 207 names as published in the Post Newspaper Edition No. 7200 have been found to be Zambians nationals from Chief Chanje Chiefdom Rukuzye ward in Chipangali constituency.  To our great disappointment the details of the people published in the post newspaper edition were collected from residents of this same ward by the village Headwoman Katamanda whose real names are Alaina Phiri after being engaged by two women who were introduced to her by headman Mbobo, whose real names are Mr Tumeyo Mbobo Phiri a UPND chairperson for Rukuzye ward in Chipangali Constituency after being promised to be paid K2500 after the task of which a down payment of K500 was made. The Headwoman thereafter engaged two of her subjects Mary Manda and Lena Nkhoma to execute this task.

When approached by the investigation team Headman Mbobo acknowledged having introduced two women who were later identified as Mrs Caroline Zulu Munyumbwe and Mrs Chona Malata both teachers at Katete Primary School who were conducting voter sensitizations workshops for the UPND  at a church building in Mafuta Village, to Village Headwoman Katamanda. The investigations team further interviewed the people from whom voter’s cards were collected and their details of National Registration Cards were compared as also found in the provisional voters register for Chipangali ward Constituency and were found to be the same.

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