DR CHITALU CHILUFYA REMAINS INNOCENT- PRESIDENT LUNGU
Written by newsroom on July 1, 2020
President Edgar Lungu says he will leave the innocence of Health Minister Dr Chitalu Chilufya to the prosecution and the courts to prove him otherwise.
In a press statement obtained by flava fm news, president Lungu has expressed concern over remarks from some quarters of society that health minister Dr Chitalu Chilufya has continued to serve as minister despite having been charged with corruption.
He says despite being charged with criminal offences in the case of corruption allegations ,Hon Chilufya is currently innocent until proven otherwise by the courts of law.
He says this assumption is predicated on the principle of presumption of innocence which is enshrined in the constitution of Zambia and is consistent with according an accused a fair trial.
President Lungu says according to Article 18 (2) of the Zambian constitution ,every person who is charged with a criminal offence shall be presumed to be innocent until he or she is proved or pleads guilty adding that since the Zambian constitution as stated in Article 1(1) overrides any other written law or customary law or customary practices stressing that everyone must respect the resumption of innocence law.
He adds a mere allegation is not conviction and it is not the duty of the accused to prove his innocence and that the principle of presumption of innocence until proven guilty by the courts of law is also enshrined in the African charter on human and people’ rights and the international covenant for civil and political rights.
And President lungu says he respects the independence of the judiciary and other organs such as the police,the anti-corruption commission and the drug enforcement commission among others and says he will do nothing to interfere in the operations of these entities as long as he remains president.
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