Maravi

Police warn and caution Ndalamei over gold scam

Police warn and caution Ndalamei over gold scam
By Chibaula Silwamba
Wed 19 Oct. 2011, 14:00 CAT

INVESTIGATORS have recorded a warn and caution statement from former secretary to the treasury Likolo Ndalamei in the continuing probe into the gold scam. And police have seized 24 containers suspected to contain MMD bicycles which were to have been used for campaigns in the recently-held elections.

In an interview, police spokesperson Ndandula Siamana said a team of investigators drawn from the Police, Drug Enforcement Commission (DEC) and Anti Corruption Commission (ACC) summoned Ndalamei yesterday and recorded a warn-and-caution statement from him.

She also said Dickson Jere, the former press aide of former president Rupiah Banda, would appear before investigators again after a three-hour interview on Monday at the premises formerly used by the disbanded Task Force on Corruption during the Levy Mwanawasa Presidency.

"Mr Dickson Jere and Mr Ndalamei appeared yesterday Monday for interviews then today yesterday a warn-and-caution statement was recorded from Ndalamei. Mr Jere has to appear again but we have not yet come up with a day," Siamana said. "Both of them were summoned in connection with the gold scam. For Mr Ndalamei, he was summoned being the Secretary to the Treasury then."

Siamana said the police were investigating a matter where they seized some containers belonging to the former ruling party, MMD.

"We have recovered about 24 containers at a place for Mr Saidi Patel where Major Richard Kachingwe had requested that these containers containing bicycles should be kept. We suspect that these containers have bicycles. Our investigations are still ongoing," said Siamana.

Pande, former minister of foreign affairs, who was also summoned and arrived with Jere and Ndalamei, said he was never quizzed over the gold scam but over MMD assets.

"I was quizzed about MMD vehicles as party vice-national chairman. It interrogation went well. They did it professionally. I have no complaints. They were asking me about the procurement of MMD vehicles and bicycles."

Asked if he accounted for the vehicles before the investigators, Pande responded: "those are the details which my lawyer should go into details."

Pande, however, expressed ignorance about the seizure of MMD containers by the police.

And Sikota, the lawyer for the trio, said he would not be dealing with the prosecution and trial of his clients through newspapers.

"It couldn't be right for me as an officer of the court to be conducting the trial through newspapers. I don't want to become part of the media circus surrounding my clients. The whole thing should not denigrate into a media circus," said Sikota, who was the key campaigner for Banda ahead of the September 20 elections that saw the defeat of the incumbent president and end of the MMD's 20-year rule.

President Michael Sata last week revealed that a Swiss businessman, Nichola Bogdan Buzaianu, was linked to the purchase of gold seized by DEC.

The President stated that Buzaianu secretly flew into the country on a private jet and met Banda, his son James and Jere.

Banda, in a press statement on Sunday, confirmed meeting Buzaianu but denied his guest was a fugitive as alleged by President Sata.

He said he welcomed DEC's investigations into the gold scam.

"All the relevant people involved in this transaction are available and will provide necessary answers to the investigating team but suffice to say that no gold went missing mysteriously as has been portrayed," said Banda through his administrative secretary Mikatazo Wakumelo.

In the ongoing investigations into the funding of the extravagant MMD campaign, police have seized about 42 vehicles from the party and over 1,000 bicycles from the MMD that were used for campaigning. The police are investigating the source of funds used to purchase the vehicles, bicycle and other campaign materials and how they were brought into the country.

Labels: CORRUPTION, DEC, DICKSON JERE, LIKOLO NDALAMEI, NDANDULA SIAMANA, RUPIAH BANDA

posted by MrK @ 2:23 PM