Dear Mr President,
Mr President this letter is an appeal to you to help in freeing the Australian Investor Kenneth James Fitz Gerald who was arrested by immigration at Levy Mwanawasa Stadium on pretext that he is a destitute.
Mr President Gerald is an Australian Geologist who came to Zambia as a mining investor and he declared US $68 million in 2004.
He partnered with a Zambian Mr Fedson Musonda of Mkushi to go into Manganese mining. They managed to secure land from Chalata to Ndabala police check point and they later registered the large scale mine.
As things were progressing well, the former Deputy Mines Minister in the MMD regime Jazzman Chikwakwa offered to help the duo.
During the Christmas holiday of 2014 Gerald went for holiday in Australia and he came he found the mining licence had been registered in Mr Chikwakwa’s name including the four vehicles.
He sued the late Mr Chikwakwa and the matter is in court and I will not dare to go there.
With his interest to do mining in Zambia he went to Kabwe in Chief Chipepo’s area and he partnered with another Zambian and registered a mining company called Mwilwa Investment and Development.
The mine has 122 square kilometres of surface rights.
Since the mine is not fully developed he does part time jobs as a Geologist with other mining firms in Zambia.
On a material day he went to Kitwe with public transport and on his way back he was arrested by immigration officers saying he was a destitute and they wanted to deport him.
He was arrested on August 21, 2019, at Levy Mwanawasa Stadium in Power Tools Bus from Kitwe after a meeting.
He argued that he has matters before court which he needs to attend to and be present.
It has been three months now and he is still in detention at Ndola’s Kansenshi remand prison.
Please help Mr President and save us from the embarrassment as a country.
John Chifokola
Ndola
