FORMER secretary to the treasury, Benjamin Mweene yesterday told a Lusaka magistrates' court that it should find him innocent because the charges against him are false.

Mweene said the allegations against him were not true because he never caused an overpayment to Systems Innovations and Wilban Incorporated.

He said allegations that he corruptly received a cottage from former Zambia Security Intelligence Services (ZSIS) director-general, Xavier Chungu and Access Financial Services (AFS) directors, Aaron Chungu and Faustin Kabwe were false.

This is in a case in which Mweene is jointly charged with former Finance minister, Katele Kalumba, former permanent secretary Stella Chibanda and former chief economist, Bede Mpande.

Others are former director of budget Boniface Nonde and the AFS directors, Chungu and Kabwe.

The seven are facing 21 counts of theft by public servant contrary to section 29 (1) of the Anti-Corruption Commission Act as read with section 41 of Act number 42 0f 1996.

"I am asking for justice to prevail in this case and the court should find that the allegations are false and it should find me innocent.

"I had no knowledge how my signing of the contracts to Systems Innovations would benefit Mr Xavier Chungu, Kabwe and Chungu because I did not know if they had personal interests," Mweene said.

He said when the matter came up for continued defence before High Court deputy director of court operations, Edward Musona, who sat as a magistrate, that when he signed Systems Innovations contracts, he did not know about the movements of funds in the Zamtrop account.

Mweene denied having any knowledge of the relationship between ZSIS and AFS apart from the time he had been in court.

He testified that he was not induced or bribed by Kabwe or Chungu to sign the contracts for the United States-based security company and did not discuss any agreements with the two AFS directors.

Mweene said neither Kabwe nor Chungu approached him before and after he had signed the contracts.

The matter continues today.