Maravi

Chungu surprised over allegations he stole with Chiluba

Chungu surprised over allegations he stole with Chiluba
Written by Laura Mushaukwa
Monday, November 24, 2008 8:08:00 PM

FORMER Access Financial Services (AFSL) director Aaron Chungu on Monday testified that he was surprised to find himself in court for stealing government funds with former president Frederick Chiluba whom he had never met.

And Chungu thanked the Task Force officers for giving him a new brother - fugitive former intelligence chief Xavier Chungu - who he said they mistook for his blood brother.

This is in a case before Ndola High Court deputy registrar Jones Chinyama, sitting as magistrate in Lusaka, where Chungu, Chiluba and former AFSL director Faustin Kabwe are charged with theft of about US$500,000.

The trio allegedly stole the money in 1998.

In opening his defence led by his lawyer John Sangwa, Chungu told the court that he was surprised to find himself jointly charged with Chiluba for stealing government funds because he had never met Chiluba but only knew him as the president of the Republic of Zambia at that time.

He testified that he never had any formal or informal meeting with Chiluba prior to the case and that the only time he met Chiluba was during a meeting of bank executives at State House.

However, he said he was happy to have been given an opportunity to know Chiluba.

Chungu added that the only reason he was connected to Chiluba in the charges before the court was because he told the truth from the beginning.

Chungu disclosed that the Task Force officers tried to link him to Xavier Chungu because of the similarity of names, by saying Xavier was his brother.

He said he only met Xavier Chungu in late 1995 when he was introduced to him by Kabwe.

Chungu said a lot of charges, which were later dropped, were slapped on him just to keep him busy.

Earlier during re-examination, Kabwe told the court that the instructions his organisation received from Xavier Chungu were verbal because Chungu told him that the Zambia Security Intelligence Services (ZSIS) operated on a need-to-know basis.

Kabwe also told the court that AFSL maintained detailed records of the transactions, saying that was why it was even possible for the prosecution to bring the charges against them.

He denied having been involved in some kind of money laundering by virtue of the transactions AFSL carried out.

Kabwe said the duty to inform the current ZSIS director general of the relationship between AFSL and ZSIS lay with Xavier Chungu.

The matter comes up on November 26, 2008.

Labels: AARON CHUNGU, ACCESS FINANCIAL SERVICES, CHILUBA, COURTS

posted by MrK @ 8:06 PM