Maravi

Magistrate finds Mpombo with a case to answer

Magistrate finds Mpombo with a case to answer
By Abigail Chaponda in Ndola
Fri 28 May 2010, 07:10 CAT

GEORGE Mpombo was yesterday found with a case to answer in the matter where he is charged with issuing a cheque on an insufficiently funded account. And Ndola chief resident magistrate Kelvin Limbani set July 16, 2010 as the date of judgment in the matter.

Opening his defence led by lawyer Bonaventure Mutale, Mpombo told the court that Ndola businessman Ian Findlay told him not to be in a hurry to pay back the K10 million debt because the two were related. Mpombo (right) testified that on December 10 last year, he visited Findlay who was excited to see him.

“Findlay was excited to see me and we discussed a lot of things. He asked me why I resigned and we also talked about politics. Findlay also told me that the MMD party president President Rupiah Banda had promised him Findlay to be MMD Copperbelt provincial chairman,” Mpombo explained.

At this point, magistrate Limbani reminded Mpombo to restrict himself to matters relating to the cheque.

Mpombo said he told Findlay that his two tractors had a problem with the hydraulic system and had been parked.
He said he told Findlay that he needed K10 million to repair the tractors.

“After I explained to Mr Findlay, he was sympathetic with me and he gave me K10 million cash in exchange for a post -ated cheque of K10 million which was drawn to my account,” he said. “I issued a post-dated cheque because I knew that my account had inadequate funds. Mr Findlay was aware that my account had inadequate funds and I drew up a cheque of K10 million and I put 18th December 2009.”

Mpombo said on December 17, he called Findlay and asked him not to cash the cheque because there was no money in his account.

He explained that Findlay told him not to push himself as he could pay the money on any other day.
Mpombo denied the allegation that he wanted to defraud Findlay, arguing that he told him not to deposit the cheque because he was still looking for money.

State prosecutor Lawrence Mudenda in cross-examination asked Mpombo to disclose how much money he had in his account.

In response, Mpombo said there was K46,000 in the account and that was the reason he asked Findlay not to deposit the cheque.

In re-examination, Mpombo confirmed that there were inadequate funds in his account and that Findlay told him not to rush to pay back the debt because he was his in-law.

Mutale then closed the case and magistrate Limbani gave both parties two weeks in which to hand their written submissions to the court.

Labels: BONAVENTURE MUTALE, COURTS, GEORGE MPOMBO, IAN FINDLAY

posted by MrK @ 2:38 PM