Maravi

Lt Gen Singogo gets 6 yrs for corruption

Lt Gen Singogo gets 6 yrs for corruption
Written by Laura Hamusute and Mwala Kalaluka
Tuesday, January 13, 2009 9:32:17 AM

LUSAKA chief resident magistrate Charles Kafunda yesterday jailed former Zambia Air Force (ZAF) commander Lieutenant General Christopher Singogo for six years after finding him guilty of abuse of authority of office and theft by public servant. But Lt Gen Singogo through his lawyers has filed a notice of appeal seeking bail pending appeal.

And magistrate Kafunda observed that Lt Gen Singogo's case brought to the fore a scenario of weak fiscal controls in ZAF at the material time.

In this case, Lt Gen Singogo, 57, was charged with abuse of authority of office involving two generators and accessories for ZAF valued at K117, 715,940.00 that he allegedly directed to be installed at his guesthouses namely Wane Guest Lodge in Livingstone and Wasingo Guest Inn at PHI in Lusaka.

On the second count, Lt Gen Singogo was jointly charged with his former aide-de-camp (ADC) Captain Joseph Phiri, 31, of ZAF Lusaka Base, a ZAF pilot, for theft by public servant involving a standby power generator valued at K32,153,800.00.

However, magistrate Kafunda acquitted Capt Phiri after establishing that the prosecution had failed to prove beyond all reasonable doubt that he acted as he did while sharing the same criminal intent with Lt Gen Singogo who directed him to perform the said acts in the course of his duty.

In passing judgment, magistrate established that Lt Gen Singogo was a public officer at the time he committed the offence and that he orchestrated the procurement of the generator sets.

Magistrate Kafunda dismissed the evidence of one of the defence witnesses relating to quotations.

He noted that there was a dispute concerning the amount at which the generator sets were procured. Magistrate Kafunda said there was evidence that the generator sets were installed at the lodges in question and the defence even conceded on that point.

Magistrate Kafunda expressed sadness at the move by the defence to portray one of the prosecution witnesses as a liar, describing the approach as unethical in the noble profession of legal practice as it bordered on trickery and undesirable gimmicks.

Magistrate Kafunda further said Lt Gen Singogo used the Chamba Valley officers' mess for the generators in order to deceive the officers that the generator sets were for official ZAF use when in fact they were for his private use. He said he was satisfied that Lt Gen Singogo acted unilaterally as no ZAF unit made a request for the generator sets and tender procedures were not followed.

Magistrate Kafunda established that the generator set installed at Wasingo Inn was moved from the lodge after the Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) started carrying out investigations.

On the point by the defence that ZAF, being a security institution its commander had in certain cases discretion to make procurement decisions without regard to Zambia National Tender Board (ZNTB) regulations especially where operations were involved, magistrate Kafunda said although ZAF was a security institution, it still remained an institution of government like any other.

Magistrate Kafunda ruled that as far as procurements of goods and services were concerned, all government and parastatal bodies were subject to the regulation and control of ZNTB regulations. He said whatever discretion was open to the ZAF commander, whether with respect to a secret fund or not, had to be exercised within the confines of the law and must never be exercised to foster personal gain at the expense of critical military operations and public resources.

It is against this background that magistrate Kafunda found Lt Gen Singogo guilty on the first count. He also found Lt Gen Singogo guilty on count two after establishing that he had intentions to permanently deprive the government of the generator in question.

In mitigation, Lt Gen Singogo's lawyer Ghanje Mhango said moving from the status of ZAF commander to a convict was enough punishment for Lt Gen Singogo and urged the court to have mercy on his ageing parents.

He also highlighted Lt Gen Singogo's accomplishments in ZAF. Mhango said Lt Gen Singogo was a family man and a first offender.

Another lawyer, Kelvin Bwalya urged the court to find a middle ground in sentencing his client.

Magistrate Kafunda initially jailed Lt Gen Singogo for eight years but slashed two years after listening to the mitigation.

After judgment was handed down, Lt Gen Singogo through his lawyer applied for leave to file a notice of appeal on grounds that the sentence was too excessive. However, magistrate Kafunda castigated the lawyer for being impatient saying the application was premature.

He said he would deal with the application after the lawyers furnished him with all the grounds of appeal.

While passing the judgment, magistrate Kafunda hoped that the relevant authorities had addressed the weak fiscal controls in ZAF in order to safeguard meager taxpayers resources.

He said the approach in ZAF of the commander having discretion to procure certain goods without following tender procedure was a culture that undermined fiscal discipline among those charged with control of public resources as it was a recipe for impunity among the controlling officers.

Magistrate Kafunda said it was a pity that an officer at such a high level in government and in command of a disciplined force could claim to function outside ZNTB regulations provided for by the law.

Labels: CHARLES KAFUNDA, CHRISTOPHER SINGOGO

posted by MrK @ 9:33 AM