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Zambia: Court Finds Chiluba With Case to Answer

16 February 2008

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Lusaka — A LUSAKA magistrate's Court has found Second Republican President Frederick Chiluba and two others with a case to answer on 12 counts of theft and put them on defence.

Chiluba and Access Financial Services (AFS) directors Faustin Kabwe and Aaron Chungu were charged with theft after they allegedly stole public funds from the ZAMTROP account.

Chiluba was facing six counts of theft by public servant while Kabwe and Chungu were also facing six counts of theft.

In the charges among the amounts that were allegedly stolen included US$50,000, $125,000.00, $148,000,00, $123,980.25, $27,906.48, $33,000,00, $205,000.00, K25 million and K43 million, all property of the Government of Zambia.

In their submissions, Chiluba, Kabwe and Chungu asked the court to find them with no case to answer and subsequently acquit them.

State prosecutor, Mutembo Nchito, submitted that a case to answer had been established with respect to all the accused persons and in respect of each count by which each accused person was charged.

In delivering the ruling, High Court registrar, Jones Chinyama, sitting in the magistrates court, said he found each of the three accused persons with a case to answer and put them on defence.

Mr Chinyama explained that should he find that the evidence in any of the counts or all of them was not sufficient to require each one of the accused persons to make a defence, he would dismiss the case against such accused person and acquit him as it was a fact on the terms of section 206 of the Criminal Procedure Code.

He stated that he had asked himself whether the evidence presented by the prosecution, which called a total of 35 witnesses, was such that a reasonable tribunal might convict upon it.

Mr Chinyama reminded himself that it was not his role at this stage of the proceedings to establish whether the case had been proven beyond reasonable doubt but to simply determine whether there was sufficient evidence to justify calling upon each of the accused for defence.

"In my considered view and to answer the question I had put to myself earlier, there exists at this stage of the proceedings evidence upon which a reasonable tribunal might convict assuming that there was further evidence coming, I find each of the three accused persons with a case to answer and put each one of them on defence," ruled Mr Chinyama.

The court which reviewed the evidence from the prosecution noted that the ledgers and other accounting documents admitted into evidence spoke about the transactions that took place, which were conclusive and that the documents could not be easily dismissed with a flick of the hand as being inconsequential.

Mr Chinyama noted that the Zambia Security Intelligence Services (ZSIS) operated the ZAMTROP account and that it was beyond question that former ZSIS director, Xavier Chungu, was at the helm of ZSIS and described himself with the title of director-general.

He further noted from the evidence that funds from the ZAMTROP account, which was a Government account, were allegedly paid to Chiluba's children while two lawyers, Vincent Malambo and Eric Silwamba, who represented him in the presidential petition, were bought properties.

Marcus Nzonzo, from Simeza Sangwa Associates, received the ruling on behalf of Chiluba's lawyers John Sangwa and Robert Simeza who were not in court.

Outside court, one sympathiser wept uncontrollably after the ruling was delivered, but all the accused persons were calm.

The matter was adjourned to May 5 to 9 and May 12 to 16 for defence while mention dates were set for March 14 and April 14.

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