DPP disapproves private prosecution in Total case

DPP disapproves private prosecution in Total case
By Maluba Jere
Sat 05 Mar. 2011, 04:00 CAT

THE Director of Public Prosecutions has re-jected an application by private prosecutors to co-prosecute a case where four former Total Zambia employees are in court for 13 counts of theft, theft by servant and fraudulent false accounting.

According to a letter from DPP Chalwe Mchenga, the private prosecutors' application had not been approved although he the DPP had instructed the Divisional Prosecutions Officer to allow them interact with the public prosecutor handling the matter.

“This will enable you facilitate and get involved in the pre-trial preparation of the case with the prosecutor,” said Mchenga.

In this case, Claire Mulwanda Mwale, Julius Phiri, Edward Musonda and Fredrick Nyirenda all pleaded not guilty to all the 13 counts involving huge sums of money.
When the case came up before Lusaka senior resident magistrate David Simusamba a representative from the private law firm informed the court that the complainant in the matter had engaged the law firm to co-prosecute the case.

But the defence sought the court’s guidance on the application saying they failed to discern Total Zambia’s interest to engage the private prosecutor saying the matter was in able hands of the state prosecutors.

Magistrate Simusamba told the parties that he would relax the straight rules regarding private prosecutors intending to join a matter.

However, magistrate Simusamba told the private prosecutor to sit in and observe the proceedings but that she would not have a role to play in the case on that day. It is alleged that Mwale, 25, who told the court that she is a student, is in the first count charged with fraudulent false accounting contrary to the Laws of Zambia.

It is alleged that Mwale on September 3, 2009 being employed by Total Zambia Limited as a clerk, with intent to defraud, made false entries for 25,000 litres of unleaded petrol and another 10, 000 litres purporting to show that the same had been issued and delivered to Alick Nkhata Total Filling Station when in fact not.

In counts, two, three and four, Mwale is alleged to have issued and delivered thousands of litres of petrol and gas oil worth millions to several filling stations in Lusaka when in fact not.

The matter comes up on March 24, 2011.