Chief prosecutor sacked 2 days before Zambia elections

By Francis Maingaila

LUSAKA, Zambia (AA) - Zambia’s chief prosecutor was sacked Tuesday, a presidential spokesman said, two days before elections that could see President Edgar Lungu removed from power.

The dismissal of Director of Public Prosecution Mutembo Nchito on the recommendation of a tribunal investigating claims of misconduct has led to allegations that he was removed to prevent him prosecuting members of the ruling Patriotic Front in the wake of defeat in presidential, parliamentary and local elections on Thursday.

Lungu’s spokesman Amos Chanda said in a statement that Nchito was dismissed because he had “taken over prosecution of a criminal matter in which he was an accused person and proceeded to enter a [notice of abandonment] in his own case.” The statement added that the decision was “calculated to defeat the cause of justice.”

Nchito’s deputy Lilian Siyuni was named as his successor.