Maravi

Regina In Court (2 Articles)

Regina’s property bears State receipts — Witness
By NORMA KAPATA

SOME of the goods seized from former Republican President Frederick Chiluba’s wife Regina’s house in Ndola by the Task Force on Corruption were procured by State House, a Ndola magistrate’s court heard yesterday. This was in the case in which Mrs Chiluba is facing nine counts of being in possession of stolen or unlawfully obtained property. The property in question includes four vehicles, real estate, a 61-inch Toshiba colour Television set and K474 million cash.

State witness Moola Nayota, 36, told the court that while attached to the Task Force, he was assigned to identify and ascertain how Mrs Chiluba acquired certain properties by tracing the source of funds. Mr Nayota who is a former Zambia Police Service officer and now a security manager at the Bank of Zambia regional office in Ndola, said he applied for search warrants to search Mrs Chiluba’s residence in 2002 as well as to gain access to information pertaining to her accounts with various banks.

His search at Mrs Chiluba’s residence at the time, house number 54 Lewanika road, yielded among other things, 21 receipts and documents from Zambia Revenue Authority, a freight agent and ZEGA.
Other documents were tax invoices and release orders from the tax and excise division at Lusaka International Airport. Some of documents used to import undisclosed goods, had the addressee listed as State House, of the Government of the Republic of Zambia. Nayota said he also found an airway bill also addressed to State House for transportation of a Toshiba 61-inch colour television set, serial number 69140018, from receipts found from the bedroom and the sitting room.

A move to have the documents admitted as evidence by State advocate Christopher Mundia and State prosecutor Fred Malambo was however, met with strong objection from Mrs Chiluba’s lawyer Robert Simeza who said the witness was not the proper person to produce the evidence. “Tendering of the documents as evidence by Mr Nayota cannot be allowed as he is not the author of the documents neither is he the addressee nor were the said documents in his custody. “Mr Nayota is no longer working for the Task Force, unless you are telling me he had the documents with him at the Bank of Zambia before coming here,” Mr Simeza said.

Mr Mundia responded that the documents were found on the accused and the witness was a team leader who conducted the search and no rule prohibited a witness from testifying that he came across the documents. “The State will call witnesses that authored the documents and it is our submission that the objection is premature,” Mr Mundia said. Principal resident magistrate Chilombo Phiri sustained the objection saying the State should have laid the foundation in whose custody the documents were. Mr Nayota later told the court that upon leaving employment with the Zambia Police Service, he surrendered all documents pertaining to the case to Assistant Commissioner of Police Musole Biemba with Vincent Machila, from the Anti- Corruption Commission (ACC) witnessing the procedure. He told the court in a four-hour long examination how he visited several banks to check on Mrs Chiluba’s accounts as well as those of her ex-husband, Edward Mwanza.

The search also allegedly implicated Mrs Chiluba’s relatives Catherine Chifunda and Charles Chifunda from whose residences vehicles were recovered. One of the vehicles, a Toyota Rav 4 registration number AAR 4461 was retrieved from Catherine’s residence, number 7790 in what is called the Kansenshi In-fill, in Ndola. Another car, a Mitsubishi Canter registration number ACE 9742 seized from Collet House in Ndola from Charles. A BMW car registration ACD 1871 red in colour was also seized from a garage as well as an Isuzu registration number AAT 2603. All three vehicles were listed in the white books that were produced in court as belonging to Mrs Chiluba except for the BMW, which was listed as being co-owned with her ex-husband.

Mr Malambo asked Mr Nayota whether he would be able to take the court to the sites where the items in question where to which he replied in the affirmative. Three of the vehicles are currently parked at the Ndola Central Police Station Trial continues today. Meanwhile, there was tight security at the court buildings, which were sealed off with razor wire while police clad in riot gear manned the premises. Mrs Chiluba upon leaving the court building was met with enthusiastic waves from Patriotic Front (PF) cadres who were kept at bay by the wire.

They cadres shouted, “We love you!” to Mrs Chiluba to which she replied, “I love you too, thank you for coming,” before being whisked away in a tinted black Government vehicle.





http://www.daily-mail.co.zm/press/news/viewnews.cgi?category=8&id=1152779518

Witness narrates how Regina acquired $80,000 property
By CHARITY MUSA, BARBARA MUKUKA

A STATE witness has testified how US$80,000 was transferred from a Barclays Bank of Zambia account in Lusaka to another bank in Ndola to buy Addo House in Ndola in favour of former President, Dr Frederick Chiluba’s wife, Regina. This was at the commencement of trail in the Ndola Magistrates’ Court in a case in which Mrs Chiluba is accused of receiving and being in possession of stolen State property. Mrs Chiluba was married to a Mr Edward Mwanza at the time of the alleged offence.

The first prosecution witness, Moola Nayoto, a former senior superintendent in the Zambia Police Service, told Magistrate Chilombo Phiri, that between April 2002 and February 2004, he was attached to the Task Force on Corruption. Mr Nayoto, who is now employed by the Bank of Zambia’s security wing, testified that during his attachment to the Task Force on Corruption, he was assigned to trace the bank accounts of Mrs Chiluba.

He said a search warrant was issued by the magistrates’ court, which he used to carry out investigations at Barclays Bank. The witness said a Chisha Chibesakunda, an employee of the bank, told him that the accused transferred a total of US$80,000 in three payments to buy Addo House in Ndola in 1999. He was led in evidence by Task Force on Corruption prosecution lawyer, Christopher Mundia.

Mr Nayoto also said he obtained another search warrant which he used at Standard Chartered Bank in Ndola, where he looked at bank deposits which were made in the name of Regina Chifunda Mwanza. “The following cash deposits were made in respect of the accused account; K40 million (February 2, 2004), K50 million (February 4, 2001), K80 million (April 10, 2001), K20 million (February 12, 2001). Other deposits were K35 million (October 8, 2001), K30 million (October 22, 2001) and the K150 million (November 11, 2001),” Mr Nayoto said. He tendered to the court the bank documents regarding the payments.

Mr Nayoto also testified that on September 10, 2002, he applied for another search warrant to carry out investigations at House No 54 Lewanika in Kansenshi, Ndola, that was Mrs Chiluba’s residency. However, Mr Nayoto said he only found Mrs Chiluba’s relatives. He said during the search in the presence of Mrs Chiluba’s lawyers, he found 21 documents. “The documents included clearing documents, Zambia Revenue Authority (ZRA) customs and assessment papers and import papers, including one for a Toshiba television set that belonged to State House,” he said.

But defence lawyer, Robert Simeza, objected to the introduction of the documents for identification, saying that the witness did not author them, nor were they addressed to him and that they were not in his custody as he left to join the Bank of Zambia. However, Mr Mundia explained that the prosecution’s strategy was to show to the court that some documents were found and that some other witnesses would testify to show their authenticity. Mr Nayoto also said he did not find the Toshiba television set at Mrs Chiluba’s residence but with Mr Kabobo of Kansenshi Infill. He explained that Mr Kabobo told him that the television set was handed to him for repair by Regina Mwanza.

Mr Nayoto also said another search warrant was issued against Mrs Chiluba’s relative, Charles Kafunda from whom a Mitsubishi Canter registration number ACE and a BMW car, red in colour were seized by the police and handed over to him at the offices of the Drug Enforcement Commission (DEC) offices. The other vehicle that was recovered by the police was a manual for a Toyota Land Cruiser. Mr Nayoto said a Mitsubishi Rav 4 registration number AAR 4461 was recovered from Catherine Kafunda and her husband, a Pastor Ngosa, who signed the search warrant. These vehicles’ white books were in the name of Mrs Chiluba.

He said when he left the Zambia Police Service he left the vehicles and white books in the custody of Commissioner of Police, Musole Biemba. Mr Nayoto testified that he went to Parklands in Kitwe where he inspected shops at plots number KIT 643 and KIT 645, a farm in Fatima in Ndola and that the investigation was extended to then Registrar of Land, Frighton Sichone. The case has been adjourned to today for continued trial.

Labels: COURTS, REGINA CHILUBA

posted by MrK @ 2:16 PM