BY NATION REPORTER
LUSAKA businessman Francis Muchemwa has narrated how he was rendered homeless after the Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) seized his house and apartments in Chongwe’s Silverest area.
Mr Muchemwa confirmed in an interview that the ACC had taken over his properties and ordered him to vacate them by 18:00 hours on Thursday.
Mr Muchemwa a former member of the PF Intercity security team, said he had complied with the order to vacate the properties.
“As I speak, I am homeless with my children and my wife and I am struggling to find where I will sleep and where I will get my next meal,” Mr Muchemwa said
According to an ACC callout dated January 9, 2023 made available to the Daily Nation, Mr Muchemwa was requested to report himself to the ACC on Wednesday, January 11, 2023.
Mr Muchemwa narrated that when he arrived at the ACC offices, he was surprised to learn that there was no interview.
He said while at the ACC offices around 11:00 hours, a combined team of ACC and police officers informed him that they had to go with him to his apartments and when he asked them if he was under arrest, they informed him that he was not.
Mr Muchemwa said when they arrived at the apartments, the ACC officers told him that they had come to seize trucks, house and apartments.
He said the ACC officers then ordered him to leave the same day (Wednesday), he pleaded with them that he could not leave immediately because he had a sick child.
Mr Muchemwa said when he asked why the ACC officers had seized his properties, they informed him that the Restriction Order had expired and that they had received instructions to seize all his properties.
“My cry to the President is that he embrace young people like me and encourage us, if we are wrong, control us , we are the future of the nation,” he said.
He said he then asked why his properties had been seized when the matters were before the courts of law, an ACC senior investigations officer whom he did not name, informed him that the officers could not challenge orders.
“But I am here with 50 workers who will now struggle without their jobs. I am just a young man aged 38 fighting my lungs out for a better future with determination to help others,” Mr Muchemwa said.
He also said he was employed by Zesco on merit as he possessed a Grade 12 certificate and also obtained an Association of Accounting Technicians (AAT) accounts diploma from the United Kingdom (UK).
Mr Muchemwa said in 2018, Zesco sent him to Swaziland to attend a course in Protocol and VIP Security at Mangrove Institute. “You can confirm with Zesco, I never got free money, I worked for it and I got allowances on merit. I joined Zesco after working as a manager at Intercape,” Mr Muchemwa said.
Mr Muchemwa is being represented by Makebi Zulu and Advocates and other lawyers from Tutwa Ngulube and Company. In September last year, the ACC arrested Mr Muchemwa, 38, of L/26392/M in Chongwe’s Silverest for alleged possession of property worth over K12 million suspected to be proceeds of crime.
Mr Muchemwa was charged with five counts of possession of property suspected to be proceeds of crime.
In the first count, it is alleged that between January 1, 2015 and August 31,2022, Muchemwa possessed property number L/26392/M, a dwelling house valued at K2, 500, 000.00 located in Silverest area, Chongwe.
In the second count, between January 1, 2015 and August 31, 2022, Muchemwa is alleged to have possessed property number L/26395/M apartments valued at K4, 500,000 in Silverest area, Chongwe.
Particulars in the third count are that between January 1, 2015 and August 31, 2022, Muchemwa jointly and whilst acting together with Friltech Networks Zambia Limited, did possess property number L/28477/M/H and L/28477/M/J valued at K3, 400, 000 located in Silverest area in Chongwe.
