Maravi

DEC slaps money laundering charges on Kapoko

DEC slaps money laundering charges on Kapoko
Written by Mwala Kalaluka
Thursday, June 18, 2009 3:20:09 PM

THE Drug Enforcement Commission (DEC) has slapped four new charges of money laundering on former Ministry of Health human resources manager Henry Kapoko who has been implicated in the K27 billion scam. Kapoko's lawyer, Mutinta Syulikwa of KBF and Partners, during an interview said her client was asked to appear at the DEC's Anti-Money Laundering Unit offices on Tuesday afternoon.

"What they said is they were charging him with offences under the Money Laundering Act number 14 of 2001," Syulikwa said. "So they gave him four counts of money laundering and all the counts relate to the same K1.9 billion."

Syulikwa said the DEC officials charged that in all the counts, Kapoko got an amount of K1.9 billion.

"That he engaged in business transaction where he got K1.9 billion, which they say is obtained from illegal activities and he deposited that K1.9 billion in the Kahekam Limited company account," she said.

Syulikwa said the DEC officers alleged that Kapoko used the same money to purchase a Toyota Nadia motor vehicle except in the first count.

"That some of the money went to building on plot 13949; that is where the second phase of Best Home Lodge is being built," Syulikwa said. "That also some other monies were used to build Best Home Lodge."

Syulikwa revealed that the DEC officers told them that the four charges would be added to the indictment that is already a matter of court proceedings before magistrate Kenneth Mulife tomorrow.

On Tuesday, the state was advised to prosecute the case in which seven civil servants and a lodge operations manager have been implicated in the K27 billion Ministry of Health scam with clean hands.

This is in a matter where Abel Katongo, Anthony Mwila, Lloyd Onde, Justin Phiri, Nobert Peleti, Zukas Kaoma, Kapoko, all civil servants and Best Homes Lodge operations manager Fred Chileshe are facing various offences before the Lusaka magistrates court.

All the accused persons pleaded not guilty to their respective charges.

During hearing on submissions to support the granting and denial of bail, state prosecutor Frank Mumbuna said the state would not allow itself to be intimidated over the proceedings.

Mumbuna said on the lack of the provisions of the law by the defence counsels, their statements during the application were intimidatory.

"We submit further that it is not our intention to underestimate anybody, as doing so would be exhibiting a spirit of unprofessionalism in the art of prosecution," he said.

Mumbuna said the case authority cited in the bail application was completely in favour of the state and as such they would draw authority from it.

He said the proper test of whether bail should be granted or refused is whether it is probable that the applicant would appear to take his trial.

He said the court had to take into account certain circumstances in reaching that conclusion.

"The nature of the accusation against the suspect and the severity of punishment, which may be imposed. The nature of the evidence in support of the charge," Mumbuna submitted. "The independence of the sureties if bail is granted. The prejudice the applicant will suffer if he is not admitted to bail, as well as the prejudice to the state if bail is granted."

Mumbuna said it was not in dispute that the allegations against the eight accused persons could never be viewed minimally.

"As this is one of the top most allegations the state has ever recorded, Zambia has ever recorded," Mumbuna said as some people in the audience openly disagreed with him. "This, your worship, can even be felt even by a blind citizen by heart if not by sight. The nature of our evidence is such that 90 per cent of our witnesses are coming from the Ministry of Health where most of the applicants have been supervisors of such would-be witnesses for the state."

He said management at the Ministry of Health had barred all the applicants from setting foot on the premises, after it was realised that certain documents, which could have been vital in the proceedings and other cases to come had gone missing.

"This act amounts to interference of potential witnesses to the state," Mumbuna said as one defence counsel objected on the basis that the assertions were wild allegations.

But Mumbuna insisted that it was common knowledge that the prosecution speaks through the investigative wings and that some of the things he was saying occurred before any of the defence counsel had been engaged.

Mumbuna said there mere fact that the Ministry of Health had barred the applicants from the premises goes to show that their actions were prejudicial to interest of the state.

"We have followed the applications by all the defending counsels, none has qualified to what kind of prejudice each applicant will suffer if the court did not grant bail to the application," he said. "Going by this cited case, it is very clear that a qualification for one to present himself for trial is not enough if the same applicant has a record of having violated the independence of witnesses. This application also must fail, your worship if there is indication that the action by a particular applicant amounts to prejudice against the state."

Mumbuna said the state felt unsafe to having the accused persons granted bail for they had made attempts to arrest the course of justice.

Mumbuna irked most of the people in the audience when he said Kapoko was nowhere near any eligibility of being granted bail because he attempted to flee the country before his arrest and that it had to take a seasoned investigator to nab him after ten days.

He said to grant bail to Kapoko would be like letting justice run through the fingers like sand.

Mumbuna said had Kapoko managed to flee the country, the proceedings before the court would have been meaningless and to trust a man with such a record would be a clear case of gambling.

But defence counsel for Katongo, Paul Katupisha, said it was not true that the case was one of the top most cases in the country.

Katupisha said from the submission of the state, it appeared as though the accused persons had been slapped with flimsy charges and brought to court so that the court could help the state in detaining them longer.

Magistrate Mulife is expected to make his ruling on the matter tomorrow and all the eight accused persons had been remanded in custody.

Labels: DEC, HENRY KAPOKO, MUTINTA SYULIKWA

posted by MrK @ 2:19 PM