FORMER Taskforce on Corruption executive chairperson Max Nkole has described allegations by the Committee of Citizens (CC) that he had asked for the discontinuation of the case involving former Republican president Frederick Chiluba as a lie.

Mr Nkole said in an interview in Lusaka yesterday that at no time did he write a letter to the Republican vice-president asking that the case should be discontinued and challenged CC executive director, Gregory Chifire to immediately publish the purported letters.

Mr Chifire on Tuesday challenged Max Nkole to deny that he had written letters to the vice-president asking that the case involving Dr Chiluba be discontinued.

He said that Mr Nkole should in the next seven days publicly admit that he had written several letters to the vice-president, saying that Dr Chiluba's case should be dropped because of lack of evidence.

"I am challenging Mr Chifire to publish the letters I purportedly wrote immediately," Mr Nkole said before adding that in fact he could not write such a letter to the vice-president but to the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP).

Mr Nkole said there was no way he could have said that the case should be discontinued due to lack of evidence as a person who had been championing the need to exhaust the justice process through appeal.

He said non-governmental organisations officials should not use their positions to misinform the nation, adding that there was need to stick to the truth.

Mr Chifire had said that if Mr Nkole did not respond to the committee, he would make public the letters.

But Mr Nkole said Mr Chifire was free to tell the nation whatever he knew about the issue.