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Kabwe's bail application to be heard on August 28

Kabwe's bail application to be heard on August 28
By Laura Mushaukwa
Saturday August 16, 2008 [04:00]

LUSAKA High Court judge Eddie Sikazwe has refused to hear incarcerated former Access Financial Services Limited director Faustin Kabwe’s bail application but instead ordered that it be sent back to the magistrates’ court. This is in a case where Kabwe has applied to the High Court for bail, pending appeal against conviction and a two-year jail sentence by the magistrates’ court on a charge of conspiracy to defraud.

Judge Sikazwe sent the matter back to the magistrates’ court where he ordered that it be heard expeditiously, contending that the bail application was supposed to be lodged before the convicting court upon pronouncement of the judgment.

“It is ordered that since this matter was adjudged by the subordinate court on August 13, 2008 and seeing that this matter is one which is and can be entertained by the convicting court in respect of the bail application and was not lodged before the convicting court immediately upon pronouncement of the judgment, there has been no application before it.

As the vacation judge for the general list for this Michaelmus vacation, I am directing and sending this bail application to the subordinate court to hear the bail application expeditiously,” judge Sikazwe ruled.

He added that after all, the lower court had in the first place granted bail to the appellant all the time the matter was being heard by it.

But when Kabwe and his lawyer John Sangwa went to the magistrates court as ordered, High Court Deputy Registrar Edward Musona, who is the convicting magistrate, set August 28, 2008 as the date of hearing for the application.

Sangwa returned to the High Court to inform judge Sikazwe of the development but was by press time still waiting for the judge’s response.

Meanwhile, incarcerated former Zambia Consolidated Copper Mines (ZCCM) chairman Francis Kaunda’s bail application will be heard tomorrow.

On August 13, Kabwe was sentenced to two years imprisonment with hard labour by the magistrates’ court after he and Kaunda were found guilty of conspiring to defraud ZCCM.

Kaunda was also sentenced to two years imprisonment with hard labour on a charge of abuse of authority of office.
However, Kaunda will only serve two years in prison as the sentence is concurrent.

Labels: COURTS, FAUSTIN KABWE

posted by MrK @ 4:26 AM