Court allows production of bank statements in Regina's case

Court allows production of bank statements in Regina's case
By Inonge Noyoo
Tuesday April 29, 2008 [04:00]

LUSAKA magistrate Charles Kafunda has allowed the production of bank statements and business documents relating to Regina Chiluba’s transactions in the case where she is accused of receiving property believed to have been stolen. Magistrate Kafunda has, however, reserved ruling on whether the legal documents which were produced in the matter should be admitted as evidence.

Magistrate Kafunda was delivering his ruling following Regina’s lawyer Robert Simeza’s objection to the production of the documents saying the prosecution had not laid enough foundation to merit the admission of the documents as evidence.

He said though the documents in question could be categorised as business documents, they were collected in the course of investigations.

Magistrate Kafunda said Anti Corruption Commission prosecutor Vincent Machila could produce the said documents as he acquired them during the course of his investigations.

He said a number of witnesses who testified in the matter attested to the nature of the documents and their source.

Magistrate Kafunda said he found the testimony of the witnesses who earlier testified in the matter to have formed the necessary foundation required to admit the documents.

He said the fact that the documents in question may be photocopies did not warrant their exclusion as the whereabouts of their originals had been sufficiently explained.

Magistrate Kafunda said the investigations officers were empowered under section 81 to collect the said document and produce them before court.

He has however reserved ruling on whether the documents from the lawyers Elzugar Musonda and company should be produced as evidence.

Simeza had argued that the said documents were legal documents obtained from his client's lawyers and they could not be produced in court by a legal advisor without the consent of his client.

Simeza said the said documents were forbidden from production because of the said professional privilege.

The matter comes up on May 3.