6 August 2008
Former Lands minister, Gladys Nyirongo, has told a Lusaka magistrate's court that she never applied or paid for the former ZCCM land, which she is alleged to have allocated to herself in Kabwe.
This is in a case in which Nyirongo is charged with abuse of authority of office by directing a junior technical officer to sub-divide a former ZCCM farm number F/390a in contravention of land alienation procedures.
She is further alleged to have created property number 1/19634/m for her between October 1, 2006 and February 28, 2007.
In the other count, she allegedly between January 1 and February 22, 2006, being a person employed in the public service, directed a lands officer to generate offer letters of land in Foxdale, Chamba Valley Lusaka to 10 people.
Nyirongo told magistrate, Sharon Newa, that she never applied for the land, did not receive any offer letter and did not pay for the same land. She also denied directing a junior officer to sub-divide the ZCCM farm.
She also said that she had no title to the land or any documents for the former ZCCM land because she was not impressed with the land that was shown to her when she initially expressed interest.
She explained that in July 2005 she applied for a small-holding farm in Lusaka but then later the new commissioner of lands, Frightone Sichone, told her that there was no such land in Lusaka but offered her an alternative in Kabwe.
She said Mr Sichone then informed her that the provincial lands officer, Harry Mwewa, would take her to view the land in Kabwe and if she liked it the land alienation process would start.
But when she went to Kabwe Mr Mwewa phoned and said that a junior technical officer at the ministry of Lands, Christopher Chewe, would instead take her to the farm.
She said as arranged Mr Chewe took her to the farm where he explained the boundary and when she left Kabwe she did not instruct Chewe to sub-divide the farm.
"I went to Kabwe on the commissioner's advice but I was not impressed with the land because it had thorns, sand and was rocky. He encouraged me to obtain the land but I told him that I would get back to him," he said.
She, however, said that she never went back to the commissioner and did not put any pressure on Mr Chewe to demarcate the land.
She said she was not even aware that the process of allocation had started because she was never asked to write an application letter, or pay acceptance fee and did not even sign any offer letter.
The State then applied for adjournment to cross examine Nyirongo because the defence was long and that it needed to consult on fresh issues that had been raised.
The matter continues on September 17.
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