ZAMBIA is witnessing a disturbing trend in which known criminals are fleeing the country under the guise of “political persecution” and seeking asylum abroad.
The truth is simple. These individuals are not victims of oppression but fugitives from justice, running away because they know the courts will not rule in their favour.
Almost all of them are linked to the former ruling Patriotic Front (PF), a regime remembered for rampant corruption, State capture, and unprecedented abuse of power. 
Today, as the law catches up with them, they are hiding behind the façade of “political asylum.”
Who Are These So-Called “Exiles”?
Emmanuel Mwamba – A PF propagandist and former diplomat, facing multiple corruption-related inquiries.
Charles Kakula – Infamous for storming the Ministry of Supply and physically assaulting a civil servant, a transport officer Shelly Chatugwa, simply for being suspected of sympathising with the then main opposition political party, the United Party for National Development (UPND). Chatugwa was singled out by Kakula, and his PF cadres criminals simply for being Tonga speaking.
Emmanuel J Banda- a known criminal who brutalised even the police. A criminal who faked his own abduction. A criminal who urinated in the mouth of a journalist and remained undressed simply because he belonged to the ruling party, the PF. This a man who disguised his criminal activities under the umbrella of being an honourable member of Parliament!
Chilufya Tayali – facing charges relating to reckless statements about the military and threatening national security. At least for Tayali, he has since come to his senses. He has now accepted that the PF, including its leader, the late sixth Republican President Edgar Chagwa Lungu, were a bunch of corrupt criminals who abused public funds.
Kaizer Zulu – once a law unto himself as Edgar Lungu’s political advisor, notorious for violent conduct and abuse of State resources.
Francis “Why Me” Kapwepwe – sponsored by the likes of Given Lubinda and Binwell Mpundu to malign and insult the head of State while evading accountability.
The above mentioned, among others, their flight is not about political beliefs; it is about escaping justice for the crimes they committed during a corrupt and lawless PF era.
Message to Donors and Foreign Governments
These fugitives are not champions of democracy. They are criminals who looted Zambia’s public resources, brutalised citizens, and dismantled the rule of law. By granting them ‘political asylum’, receiving nations risk harbouring economic offenders and rights abusers and definitely not political victims.
PF’s Legacy of Corruption
From Joseph Bonanza Malanji’s infamous unexplained wealth to widespread theft across ministries and parastatals, the PF left Zambia’s economy bleeding. The individuals now crying “persecution” are merely trying to dodge accountability for their role in this grand looting.
A Warning for the Present
The law must remain blind. Even those in today’s UPND- led government who engage in corruption should not expect sympathy when their time comes. President Hakainde Hichilema must be applauded for reiterating consistently that justice must be firm and non-partisan. It therefore remains the duty and responsibility law enforcement agents to apply the law equitable.
In conclusion, it is a known fact that
Zambia’s courts are independent. Those fleeing are guilty men and women trying to rewrite their crimes as political oppression. The world must know that Zambia is not exporting victims. It is criminals running away from justice for the injustice they inflicted on the citizens of Zambia.
All the runaway criminals must be indicted to come back to Zambia so that they can answer the crimes they committed unabated.
