By Bennie Mundando
I HAVE no relationship with Charles Loyana or anyone else who is allegedly connected to the 48 houses, United Party for National Development (UPND) chairperson for economics and finance Situmbeko Musokotwane has said.
Three days ago, Smart Eagles ran a story in which they claimed that Dr. Musokotwane failed to explain how his nephew, Mr. Loyana, who is a civil servant, earned enough money to build the infamous 48 houses after being quizzed by a caller while on a live programme on Radio Phoenix.
Smart Eagles claimed that Dr. Musokotwane said that he needed to consult his lawyers before he could comment on the houses.
But Dr. Musokotwane has now rubbished the story saying Mr. Loyana is not his relative and that no one on the radio programme called to question him over the same houses, accusing the ruling Patriotic Front (PF) of having generated the fake story.
“I wish to state categorically that I have no relationship whatsoever, whether by blood, marriage, friendship or any other social connection with Mr Loyana or anyone else who is allegedly connected to those 48 houses. I don’t know Mr Loyana, I have never met him and I don’t even know what he looks like.
“Regarding the allegation that I had difficulties on a radio interview to explain how Mr Loyana earned income big enough to build 48 houses, this is yet another cheap lie. Many people who listened to my interview on Radio Phoenix on the 29th of September 2020 will agree that no person called during the entire interview to ask me about the 48 houses,” Dr. Musokotwane said.
He challenged the peddlers of the same fake report to check get the recordings from Radio Phoenix.
“Meanwhile, the recording of the entire interview may be obtained from Radio Phoenix. I wish to urge those who did not tune in to listen to the recording so that they get a proper perspective as to why we are experiencing the current economic problems such as the loss of value of the Kwacha which were the issues under discussion.
“The vile and malicious insinuation that Mr Loyana is related to me is a PF creation. It first emerged in Parliament months ago when the PF Member of Parliament for Chitambo, one Remember Mutale, made a wild accusation that Loyana is my nephew. Because parliamentary rules prohibit lies, I reported him to the Privileges Committee of Parliament which deals, among others, with disciplinary cases involving MPs.
“Mr Mutale was ordered to prove his accusation at a hearing. For the purpose of the hearing, he was at liberty to bring as many witnesses as he wanted. He lamentably failed to prove his allegation because it was based on lies. Arising from his failure, he was found to have breached Parliamentary rules. For this, he was admonished by the Speaker in front of all MPs and he was made to apologise to me, which he did,” he said.
