UPND to officially write to UN Secretary General over Janet Rogan’s conduct
The opposition UPND has announced that it is taking further steps to officially write to the UN Secretary General on the conduct of its Resident Representative Janet Rogan.
UPND Deputy Secretary General Patrick Mucheleka said the party will report Ms Rogan to the UN Chief together with accompanying documentation as proof of her compromised position.
He has since challenged the UNDP Resident Coordinator Janet Rogan and the Electoral Commission of Zambia (ECZ) to tell the nation on the credibility of the 2016 elections since the UN funded report has been unearthed and published.
Below is the full statement from Mr Mucheleka.
PRESS STATEMENT
11th April 2018
PF DEFENCE OF JANET ROGAN CONFIRMS SHE IS COMPROMISED
Now that the UN funded report has been unearthed and published, we challenge the UNDP Resident Coordinator Janet Rogan and the Electoral Commission of Zambia (ECZ) to tell the nation on the credibility of the 2016 elections.
Janet Rogan was on record immediately after the elections declaration at Mulungushi Conference Centre telling the media that the elections were free and fair and that those that had lost must move on and look to the 2021 elections.
But her own report has identified massive flaws in the entire process hence putting into question the credibility of the 2016 elections.
The report that was commissioned and funded by the UN system in Zambia under Janet Rogan’s watch has vindicated what we have been saying that the UN Resident Coordinator in Zambia is highly compromised, that’s why she never wanted that report released.
And for us, it comes as no surprise that when the UPND President Hakainde Hichilema questions the impartiality of Janet Rogan, it is the PF as a political party under Sunday Chanda that has rushed to her defense.
Had it been the government, through the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, one would have understood, but Janet Rogan being defended by PF political cadres clearly confirms our long held view that she is heavily partisan and compromised.
Since when did the PF fall in love with international organisations with their recent record of deporting the Cuban Ambassador and deporting delegates who recently came for the formation of the Socialist Party?
PF have been on record condemning any attempts by foreign entities to interfere in Zambia’s affairs but they are now conveniently protecting Janet Rogan.
For the record, the UPND President, Hakainde Hichilema, never attacked the UN system. He actually said he respects the principles and values of the UN such as justice and equity based on respect for law and order. But Mr. Hichilema was concerned with the conduct of some of the UN staff members like Janet Rogan who has completely veered off the UN principles of respect for human rights and freedoms.
We know that all institutions of governance in Zambia have completely collapsed and the country is dangerously sliding into chaos, yet Janet Rogan has remained conspicuously quiet.
This country has been experiencing numerous incidences of political violence and injustices not seen in modern history. Opposition leaders have been brutalised and yet Janet Rogan has been absent when in fact she is supposed to take a proactive role as head of UN in Zambia . Instead, her office has met all these impunities with a deafening silence.
We are once more challenging Janet Rogan to release the post 2016 Review Report which basically indicts the UNDP as having been complicit in the mismanagement of the elections in Zambia leading to political tension in the country today.
Meanwhile, as UPND, we are taking further steps by officially writing to the UN Secretary General on the conduct of their staff member Janet Rogan together with accompanying documentation as proof of her compromised position.
Patrick Mucheleka
UPND Deputy Secretary General