- Zambians committing offences abroad will eventually face prosecution, warns DPP
CHOMBA MUSIKA,
MARY LEMBA
Lusaka
DIRECTOR of Public Prosecutions (DPP) Gilbert Phiri says Zambians who commit offences from abroad are not immune from prosecution, warning that their day of reckoning will come.
And some stakeholders have backed Government’s decision to cancel passports of six Zambians over security concerns, saying the move underscores the need to protect national interest.
Mr Phiri said citizens who blatantly break the law using the ‘comfort’ of distance will eventually face the wrath of the law back home.
“When you commit an offence, you commit a crime outside Zambia; that does not mean you are not subject to the jurisdiction of the court of Zambia.
“You can be thousands of kilometres away from this country and either by pronouncement or conduct, you commit an offence, you are amenable to being prosecuted in this jurisdiction,” he said in an interview on Friday.
Mr Phiri said this in the wake of an increase in the number of Zambians abroad who have allegedly been making inflammatory statements targeting people back home.
He said time will eventually catch up with those who commit criminal offences from abroad.
Mr Phiri urged Zambians to always uphold the rule of law when exercising their freedom of speech, regardless of their geographical location.
“My clarion call is simply to say, we need to behave ourselves wherever we are, we need to uphold the law, we need to be fair.
“We cannot be acting and conducting ourselves irresponsibly simply because we are extremely far from Zambia. The law does not forget, the law takes account and one day will be a day of reckoning. It’s only a matter of time.”
Mr Phiri also reiterated that the National Prosecution Authority (NPA) conducts its prosecutorial duties impartially in its quest to recover stolen assets.
He is pleased that Government has, over the last five years, successfully prosecuted forfeiture-of-assets cases involving property deemed to be proceeds of crime and won several cases.
Mr Phiri said NPA repossessed assets worth more than US$24 million following successful prosecution of proceeds-of-crime-related cases. https://enews.daily-mail.co.zm/welcome/home
