Maravi

Police arrest Mpombo

Police arrest Mpombo
By George Chellah and Abigail Chaponda
Wed 03 Feb. 2010, 04:01 CAT

File picture-Former defence minister George Mpombo (right) leaving the Lusaka play house after featuring on the Press Freedom Committee (PFC) organised discussion forum last year.

POLICE in Ndola yesterday arrested and charged George Mpombo with an offence of issuing a cheque on an insufficiently funded account contrary to the national payment systems Act. Mpombo's lawyer, Bonaventure Mutale, confirmed the arrest.

"He will be appearing before the PRM Principal Resident Magistrate on Friday 5th February, 2010 to take the plea and for trial. And he has been released on police bond with two sureties," Mutale said.

And Mpombo, who is Kafulafuta MMD member of parliament and former defence minister, said he reported to Ndola Central Police Station's anti-fraud section with his lawyer, around 10:00 hours.

He was summoned by Copperbelt commanding officer in charge of criminal investigations Daniel Kasonde.

"We took about an hour and we were attended to by Assistant Superintendent Kasonde and he had about three officers with him," Mpombo said. "When we went there, the police had said the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) has issued instructions that they proceed on the basis of the information available."

He said he would fully cooperate with police and that he was ready to appear before the court. Mpombo said African politics would not be complete unless a politician went through the police and the courts.

Early this month, Mpombo's K10 million debt to former MMD Copperbelt Province chairman Terence Findlay turned sour when he was reported to the police for allegedly bouncing a cheque in the same amount.

Confirming the incident to the Zambia Daily Mail, police spokesperson Bonny Kapeso said they opened a docket after Findlay presented his case.

However, the docket was closed after Findlay withdrew the case. This was after Mpombo paid the K10 million in cash.

Kapeso was also quoted by ZNBC as saying that Mpombo, through his personnel manager, paid the K10 million cash to Findlay who subsequently instructed the police to close the docket.

But well-placed sources in government revealed that Findlay was put under pressure by State House to report the matter of the bouncing cheque to the police as a way of criminalising Mpombo and therefore silence him.

"...The President was very excited when he heard this because he saw an opportunity to fix Mr Mpombo as a way of silencing him," the source disclosed.

Labels: GEORGE MPOMBO, PFC

posted by MrK @ 7:14 PM