By NATION REPORTER
THE Patriotic Front (PF) has been working to get Rizwan Patel listed for trial or even released from detention after the complainants exonerated him as being innocent but the State is determined to have him punished as hard as they can over a trumped-up charge, George Chisanga has said.
Mr Chisanga the PF chairperson in charge of legal affairs and Lukashya Member of Parliament said the case of Rizwan in which he has remained in police custody for five months without trial was nothing but torture, especially that the complainants in the matter have come in the open exonerating him from the crime. He said Rizwan was supposed to be discharged immediately after the complainants in the matter Chama America and Mr. Ground confessed that Rizwan was not involved in the crime.
Mr Chisanga said the Director of Public Prosecution (DPP), Mr Gilbert Phiri had failed to discharge the case because the UPND government was allegedly running a dual judicial system, one for everyone and the other for the PF.
He said when President Hakainde Hichilema is preaching about the heightened rule of law in the country at every fora, one would wonder why it had always been different for the members of the PF.
Mr Chisanga said just like Rizwan, former deputy PF secretary, Mumbi Phiri was imprisoned for a longtime and that since there was no case against her, the State decided to enter a nolle procequi on the day she was to be acquitted.
“Where is the rule of law in all the cases involving the PF? When any other person is arrested, the law is followed but when a PF member is arrested they make sure they punish them severely before they walk away. Where is justice in the Rizwan case, what crime did he commit for him to be incarcerated for such a longtime without trial,” he said.
Mr Chisanga explained that the day Mr Ground and Chama America went to Petauke, they were going to be attacked by members of the public but Rizwan sent his driver who protected them from being attacked.
He said but when the state heard about it they bought plane tickets for the two to report the case and the police coined it as aggravated robbery so that
