Pictures are not pornographic - Kabwela’s arresting officer

Pictures are not pornographic - Kabwela’s arresting officer
Written by George Chellah and Maluba Jere
Sunday, September 20, 2009 8:23:51 AM

ARRESTING officer in the Chansa Kabwela case Sharon Zulu on Friday agreed that the pictures of the woman in childbirth cannot be classified as pornographic and they are not capable of projecting any pornographic material. And the state has closed the case in which Kabwela is charged with circulating obscene materials or things tending to corrupt morals after calling ten witnesses to testify in the matter.

During continued cross-examination by defence lawyer George Chisanga, Zulu was asked whether she classified the pictures of the woman in childbirth as pornography. In response, Zulu said: “No, Your Honour, I never said that they are pornographic.”

Asked whether she would agree that the pictures were not capable of projecting any pornographic material, Zulu concurred with Chisanga.

“I said they are not pornographic,” she answered.

Zulu agreed that she was aware that the material before the court must be able to corrupt morals.

She said health minister Kapembwa Simbao’s secretary Clare Kalunga, Secretary to the Cabinet Dr Joshua Kanganja’s secretary Nawina Hagwagwa and Vice-President George Kunda’s senior private secretary Kenneth Ngosa never told her that the pictures created any lustful feelings or that they felt like having sex after seeing them.

“All the three never said that they had lustful feelings after seeing those pictures," Chisanga questioned as Zulu answered: “No, Your Honour, they never mentioned all those.”

She told the court that she never interviewed the people to whom Kabwela addressed the letters and the pictures in question, but rather the persons who received those letters.

Zulu said she never interviewed anyone from the office of the Lusaka Catholic Archbishop or Non-governmental Organisations Coordinating Council (NGOCC) board chairperson Marian Munyinda.

When asked why she never interviewed the people to whom the letters were addressed, Zulu said she gathered enough evidence from the people she interviewed.

Zulu said she does not recall that she was investigating the circulation of pictures to Vice-President Kunda and the other people to whom the letter was copied.

Chisanga asked Zulu whether as an investigator she conducted her investigations objectively and she agreed.

Chisanga then reminded Zulu of her evidence in chief before the court in the previous sitting where she said she was annoyed with Kabwela for circulating the pictures.

In response, Zulu agreed that she felt very disturbed and annoyed with the accused.

Asked why she did not handover the investigations at the point she formed her opinion, Zulu responded: “I am not always annoyed. I was clarifying the case that was given to me.”

When asked whether the issue of objectivity was emphasised during her training, Zulu said there was nothing like that.

Zulu said she was not aware that the police tried to interview Munyinda.

“I am not aware. Maybe she was approached but I didn’t know. I had to carry out my own investigation. To me she was not approached. I did not approach her,” she said.

Zulu indicated that she was also not aware that the Archbishop of Lusaka was approached for an interview by the police.

She was then referred to the Zambia Daily Mail Saturday edition of July 18, 2009, which contained Munyinda’s press statement.

“When you were given the accused person’s letter you said it was an apology to the Vice-President. After reading that, do you still maintain that the accused person was offering an apology to the Vice-President?” Chisanga asked.

Zulu responded: “I said it was to the person written to and also those copied to…all the people not only the Vice-President.”

Asked whether her investigation would have made a different conclusion had she interviewed Munyinda, Zulu said she never needed Munyinda in her case.

“I had enough evidence in this case I didn’t even bother to approach Mrs Munyinda,” she said.

Asked whether the pictures depicted a real situation, Zulu said she was aware that it happens. However, Zulu's approach to answering questions prompted chief resident magistrate Charles Kafunda to intervene.

“Answer the question. If we are going to be reversing we will be wasting time. We know it happens,” magistrate Kafunda said.

Zulu denied that she was not able to establish where the situation of the woman in childbirth occurred.

Asked whether she was able to establish that at the time the pictures were taken there was a strike, Zulu said she did not know when that happened but that the letter was written after the strike had ended.

Zulu’s response again prompted magistrate Kafunda to intervene.

“You have not been invited to speak on such matters. You are wondering about, when you are given a specific question you answer the question,” he said.

During re-examination by Lusaka division prosecutions officer Frank Mumbuna, Zulu said she had not accepted Kabwela’s apology in her letter to Munyinda.

She said Kabwela’s letter and pictures were for a specific group of people.

Zulu said the pictures were not published in any newspaper.

“If they were circulated, the charge wouldn’t have been the same,” she said.

She said the reasons Kabwela gave in her letter that accompanied the pictures were meaningless.

“The permanent secretary told me at the time they received the letter the issue the author was trying to raise had already been resolved,” Zulu said. “In Zambian setup a strike is always resolved through management and trade unions. There is a procedure when an institution is affected in a strike…not in that way of circulating those pictures.”

Asked what her comment was about childbirth and strike actions, Zulu said childbirth could happen at anytime with or without strikes.

Mumbuna referred Zulu to the case of Leco Vs The People 1975 Zambia Law report and requested her to read page 17 on paragraph 40 and compare the photos being discussed in the Leco case and the ones she submitted to the court.

Zulu read some excerpts and described the picture in question in the Leco case.

When asked by Mumbuna about the picture whose description she had just read to the court, Zulu said the woman in the images was dressed.

“The woman was dressed up to the knees... Those are different pictures altogether,” Zulu said.

But magistrate Kafunda interjected: “That’s not what it says. The description says it’s a picture of a naked woman…”

Zulu later said: “The pictures I submitted are of a naked woman, completely naked.”

And the state on Friday closed the case.

Magistrate Kafunda set November 16, 2009 as the date for ruling on whether Kabwela has a case to answer or not.

He said he had given both the prosecution and the defence 14 days each in which to file their written submissions.

The defence said they would file their submissions on October 2, 2009 while the state would file theirs on October 19, 2009 exactly 14 days after service of submissions by the defence.

Kabwela is charged with circulating obscene matters or things, contrary to section 177 1(b) of the Penal Code of the Laws of Zambia.

Taking plea before magistrate Kafunda, Kabwela pleaded not guilty to the charge.

Particulars of the offence are that Kabwela, between June 1 and 10, 2009 in Lusaka did circulate two obscene photographs tending to corrupt public morals.

Lusaka deputy division prosecutor, Anderson Simbuliani, is representing the state in the matter while Kabwela's defence counsels include Remmy Mainza, George Chisanga and Chileshe Kaoma.