Ministry of Home Affairs and Internal Security Permanent Secretary Dickson Matembo and his Ministry of Information and Media counterpart Thabo Kawana have challenged those circulating an audio of their conversation with the embattled Petauke Central member of Parliament Emmanuel ‘Jay Jay’ Banda to release the full conversation so that the truth of what was discussed could be known.
And, Kawana and Matembo also disclosed that the meeting at which the recording was made unbenowst to them was initiated by Banda and his family to propose an agreement with the State, which would allow Jay Jay freedom from any prosecution in exchange for furnishing the State with the true facts of his alleged abduction.
At a joint media briefing yesterday, the two senior civil servants, who have become embroiled in the nasty Jay Jay affair, dared those releasing impliedly doctored and edited audios to suit a certain narrative and agenda, to release the entire audio “since they have it”, and also threatened legal action against Banda for recording a private conversation without their knowledge or consent.
In the said audio, Kawana and Matembo can be heard conversing with a weak sounding Banda about what he said on record and off the record regarding his alleged abduction of May 25 and the subsequent happenings.
Yesterday, Kawana and Matembo explained that they had been called by Banda and met with him in the presence of his sister, Chief Mumbi of Petauke and his three wives. At the said meeting, Banda allegedly requested that the government signs a Memorandum of Understanding with him to guarantee that no charges would be brought against him regarding his strange disappearance. In exchange, he would reveal the truth of what happened.
Kawana said they categorically told Banda he was in no position to make those demands and sought to have him own up to the truth publicly because innocent people, such as State House, were being mentioned and dragged into the mess.
The duo said they declined Banda’s proposed agreement, but rather urged the lawmaker to publicly state the facts about his alleged abduction to put to bed the false allegations against innocent people and the misinformation being spread in the country.
“He was obligated to tell the truth as to what transpired. Was he abducted or not? Clearly, he was not So, in our discussion we brought it to his attention that innocent people are being mentioned here, State House staff are being mentioned,” Kawana said.
Kawana also said that Banda denied that he was the one who had mentioned the State House staffers, but that his lawyer, Sakwiba Sikota, did that. It was then, Kawana said, he told Banda to speak the truth and exonerate the people mentioned.
“Then he said ‘I am not the one who mentioned these people, it is my lawyer’ and that is why I was saying to him that he needs to speak to the press. That you need to disown this claim that you were abducted by the State House officials.”
Kawana is dissatisfied at the allegations peddled against State House officials by Banda’s lawyer, Sakwiba Sikota.
“He [Banda] needs to tell the people that what is there is on record, what is his written and sworn statement and in that written and sworn statement he has not mentioned any name, so why are innocent people being mentioned? Deliberately misleading the country,” he charged.
Meanwhile, Matembo challenged those calling for the duo’s resignation and arrest to provide evidence to warrant such actions and the circulators of the audio conversation to produce the entire recording for the public to digest the entire contents of their discussion and prove their allegations against the two state officials.
“We challenge you to play everything. Of course, we have heard some sections calling for our arrests, calling for our resignations, let them prove and state the facts that should lead to our resignations or arrests,” Matembo dared.
“The meeting was in good faith, but somebody recorded to twist facts. We challenge those people to play the whole audio, since you have it. Don’t edit it and add spice to give the wrong impression.”
He charged that the audios are being circulated in a bid to disturb the course of the ongoing investigations and delay justice, and that as someone involved in the country’s internal security, he knows that the people will be updated at the right time.
“Otherwise, may I state that there was no abduction. It was a self-abduction and people should not disturb the flow of the investigations” he said.
The duo bemoaned what they termed Banda’s permissiveness to being used, which has led him into deeper problems.
