Sata purges public service
Friday, 07 October 2011 00:00
Lusaka - In just two weeks in office, Zambia's president has replaced the country's police chief, top anti-corruption official, central bank governor, state utility CEO and scores of lower-ranking public servants.
President Michael Sata portrays many of the changes as part of a campaign against graft in the southern African nation. But some Zambians worry the man they call King Cobra is striking at his political enemies.
"There is so much corruption that this country stinks," Sata, speaking with the bluntness that earned him his nickname, said this week as he swore in Martin Malama as his national police chief.
When Sata replaced Godfrey Kayukwa, director-general of the Anti-Corruption Commission, with Rosewin Wandi, a woman, he said women were less corrupt than men.
In the run-up to elections last month, Kayukwa refused to investigate corruption charges involving the awarding of the ballot paper printing contract to a South African company.
Sata has also brought in anti-corruption fighter Max Nkole as the top civil servant at the Ministry of Home Affairs, which oversees police, prisons and immigration. Nkole, a respected former policeman who once served as chief of investigations for the UN war crimes tribunal on Rwanda, led the Zambian Task Force on Corruption created by the late President Levy Mwanawasa.
Mwanawasa's successor, Rupiah Banda, dismantled the task force amid speculation he was trying to block high-profile corruption investigations. Sata lost three presidential polls before his victory over Banda in
September ended two decades of rule by Banda's Movement for Multiparty Democracy party.
Sata's personnel changes since coming to power included the dismissal of 72 district commissioners who were vocal supporters of Banda's party.
Zambians have seen such purges before.
When the Movement for Multiparty Democracy ousted Zambia's first President Kenneth Kaunda and his United National Independent Party in 1991, all the chief executives of state-owned companies were forced to retire along with their deputies.
Top army officers also were replaced, as were senior editors at state-owned newspapers. Father Charles Chilinda, a respected Catholic priest, has called on Sata to exercise restraint and show forgiveness.
He said that though the new government has every right to probe corruption allegations, proper procedure should be observed.
"If certain issues to do with corruption have to be followed let them be investigated, but let us not dwell on witch hunts and finger-pointing," Chilinda said.
The Law Association of Zambia also has called on Sata to respect the rule of law, saying in a statement that the rule of law was at the centre of good governance and should be a cornerstone of any credible democratic government.
Along with his staffing decisions, Sata has raised concern by returning Finance Bank Zambia Limited to its owners.
The bank was recently sold to First Rand Bank of South Africa after former President Banda questioned its practices and ordered it seized from its shareholders.
The tangled case has political implications. Finance Bank chair Rajan Mahtani had sided with those prosecuting the late President Frederick Chiluba for corruption and abuse of office.
Sata fell out with Chiluba in 2001 in a succession struggle within Chiluba's Movement for Multiparty Democracy. Sata left Chiluba's party to form his own Patriotic Front.
Under Banda, Mahtani was briefly jailed on drug charges.
Opposition leader Charles Milupi said Sata should have allowed an investigation to be completed before stepping in.
"We all know that he constituted a commission of inquiry into the sale of Finance Bank to First Rand Bank of South Africa. So why did he have to hand it over to the Mahtani family in a matter of days even before the inquiry was started?" Milupi said.
The central Bank of Zambia said the national currency, the kwacha, slipped as much as 3,8% following Sata's Finance Bank announcement.
Labour leaders and ordinary Zambians, though, had been concerned about the bank's sale to South Africans, saying Finance Bank was an indigenous institution that served rural communities and employed many Zambians.
"Finally the truth has prevailed," Mahtani declared after the reversal of the sale was announced.
"I am happy the 1 000 Zambian jobs that would have been lost in this transaction are now saved."
Sata had campaigned as a champion of working-class Zambians. - SAPA.
Labels: CHARLES MILUPI, CORRUPTION, MAX NKOLE, MICHAEL SATA, ZAMBIA
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President Sata dissolves RDA
TIME PUBLISHED - Tuesday, October 4, 2011, 1:34 pm
President Michael Sata has with immediate effect dissolved the Road Development Agency-RDA. And the President has directed the new Police command to immediately stop the Zambia Revenue Authority -ZRA- from paying K4billion kwacha to a fake company managing the scanners at Nakonde border post in the Northern Province.
Meanwhile, President Sata has announced reforms in the police service with all Division Commands to be run by personnel with the rank of Commissioner of Police.
The President was speaking Tuesday morning when he swore in New Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Home Affairs Max Nkole and Deputy Inspector General of Police Stella Libongani.
Mr Nkole once served as Executive Chairman at the Task Force on Corruption before its abolishment.
And Ms Libongani was until her new appointment Central Province police commanding officer.
President Sata also disclosed that -ZRA- was on Tuesday expected to pay K4billion kwacha to a fake company which the President says belongs to someone who occupied his office.
Mr. Sata has directed the new Home Affairs Permanent Secretary and the new Police command to stop the payment and investigate how much has already been paid out to the bogus firm.
And president Sata has directed ZRA to find its own people to manage the scanners at Nakonde border.
In dissolving the RDA, the President said it is surprising that the road agency awarded some contracts without tenders and made payments with unknown source of funding.
[ZNBC]
Labels: CORRUPTION, MAX NKOLE, MICHAEL SATA, RDA
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Chiluba’s conscience is not free, says Nkole
By Patson Chilemba
Tue 07 June 2011, 07:20 CAT
FREDERICK Chiluba’s conscience is not free because he has not been cleared by the higher courts, says Max Nkole. And Nkole said
Zambians should vote into office a leadership that is committed to tackling the rampant corruption currently obtaining in the country.In an interview, Nkole, who is former Task Force on Corruption chairperson, said Chiluba did not walk the streets as a free man because justice was aborted midway. Nkole said he agreed with Law Association of Zambia (LAZ) president Musa Mwenye’s remarks that it set a bad precedent to stop former president Chiluba’s cases midway.
He said the case should have gone to the higher courts because it had both constitutional and criminal implications.
Nkole said the magistrates’ court’s judgment which acquitted Chiluba did not address important constitutional questions such as the opinion of the Auditor General.
He said it would be important to hear what the High Court would say about politicians keeping their private money in a public account.
Nkole said the precedents set by the courts had a bearing on the governance of the country because the conduct of politicians must be seen to be legal and lawful.
He said Zambians wanted Chiluba to be cleared so that his conscience could be free on the cases that were levelled against him, and necessitated the removal of his presidential immunity to face prosecution.
“In so far as justice has been suspended midway by the powers that be means that he doesn’t walk the streets as a free man. I have said that Dr Chiluba’s cases should have gone up to the High Court or Supreme Court for him to be acquitted. He would have cleared the air that the allegations which were levelled against him were frivolous,” Nkole said.
“In so far as it has not gone up to the High Court or indeed the Supreme Court it’s difficult to say that Dr Chiluba remains an innocent person.”
Nkole said as a professional, Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) Chalwe Mchenga, fully knew that frustrating the due process of the law midway was unconstitutional.
“I don’t believe that he Chiluba feels totally cleared by the courts of law,” he said.
Nkole said in the cases involving Chiluba either party to the proceedings could appeal, which the Task Force did.
“It means that the case is still outstanding in so far as the right to appeal has been refused by the state…it means that the case still remains suspended up to now. And because the case has not been cleared by the highest courts of the land, it’s difficult to believe that Dr Chiluba’s conscience is free,” Nkole said.
“There is one thing the public don’t know which is that late president Mwanawasa had written to say that ‘in the event of a dispute arising concerning the opinion given by the Task Force and that of the DPP on the matters which were in court at the time, president Mwanawasa said that he preferred that the opinion of the Task Force should be the one to prevail’.”
Nkole said he used the executive powers given to him by president Mwanawasa to lodge an appeal in Chiluba’s acquittal, on the understanding that there was a conflict of opinion on whether to appeal or not.
“President Mwanawasa had his own reasons for writing that letter which arose from the issues surrounding the former DPP Mukelabai Mukelabai and the circumstances that led to Mukelabai to leave office,” Nkole said.
“From that time on I think president Mwanawasa did not fully trust the complete professional discretion of the DPP’s office. And although these events have occurred after Mwanawasa’s death i.e. the refusal to appeal, I think it just vindicates what Mwanawasa’s fears were.”
Labels: FREDERICK CHILUBA, MAX NKOLE
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Nkole disputes $13m lawyers’ fees claim
By Patson Chilemba
Sun 15 Nov. 2009, 04:01 CAT
FORMER chairperson of the dissolved Task Force on Corruption Maxwell Nkole yesterday dispelled President Rupiah Banda's claims that lawyers were paid US $13 million to prosecute former president Frederick Chiluba.
And Nkole said he had his own reservations on the ability of the Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) to prosecute high profile corruption cases particularly those involving people President Banda favoured.
Reacting to President Banda's claims that the lawyers attached to the dissolved Task Force on Corruption were paid US $13 million to prosecute Chiluba over allegations that he stole US$500,000 public funds, Nkole said the statement by President Banda was not true.
“It's not true. First of all, the cooperating partners, they were six of them who were supporting the Task Force, and over the period of their support to the Task Force, they did not put in more than US $10 million dollars.
“Collectively, the amount of money they funded the Task Force was more than US $10 million, and all that US $10 million was put in a Task Force account in London, and more than 90 per cent of that money was paid to the London-based lawyers,” Nkole said.
“The Attorney General, because when we were prosecuting the Chiluba case in London, they were supposed to put in security for cost, they put in about US $5 million, which money is still supposed to be in London until these cases of the 20 defendants is concluded. After their conclusion of the case, because there is security for cost, they are supposed to claim it back. They secured for the people of Zambia a judgment against president Chiluba and his co-defendants. They secured a judgment of worth US $400 million. This is the London judgment we are trying to enforce so that the money can be recovered.”
Nkole said there were four lawyers who were prosecuting the Chiluba related corruption cases in Zambia and that none of them had earned the US $13 million as claimed by President Banda.
He said he did not know President Banda's source of information on the matter.
“They have not earned that money. If that money has been paid from the Attorney General's chambers, let the Attorney General's chambers … it, but surely not the Task Force, and I think it is important to say that the audit reports of the Task Force operations are available with the Auditor General. If anybody wants to verify, let them ask the Auditor General,” Nkole said.
“Every year, she goes through the accounts, and she knows how much they pay each lawyer. So personally, I would dispute that anybody has pocketed US $13 million to prosecute US $500,000.”
Featuring on Breeze FM's political hour programme on Wednesday, President Banda claimed that the dissolved Task Force on Corruption lawyers were paid US $13 million to prosecute Chiluba over allegations that he stole US $500,000 public funds.
On the public's assertions that ACC in its current form could not fight corruption, especially the corruption of those the President favoured, Nkole said late president Levy Mwanawasa set up the Task Force because he did not have much confidence in the ACC and other law enforcement agencies for them to fight grand corruption.
“After his death, I think the new administration are looking at things differently. All one can say is that we wait and see whether the fight against corruption, especially high level, will be pursued with the same vigour,” he said.
Asked on his personal opinion on the matter since he was involved in the fight against corruption, Nkole responded:
“Well, I have my own reservations because first of all, for a vigorous campaign against corruption to take place, you require to have a very strong political will, and political will is best interpreted in the way the institution fighting corruption relates to the leadership. It is my sincere hope that the current setup at the ACC will work honestly and courageously with the leadership and tell them that corruption has to be fought regardless of who is involved.”
Labels: ACC, MAX NKOLE
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Nkole turns down Task Force’s request to appear before court
Written by George Chellah
Monday, September 21, 2009 4:50:33 PM
THE Task Force on Corruption last week requested its immediate past-chairman Max Nkole to appear before court in the matter in which defunct Access Financial Services Limited (AFSL) directors Faustin Kabwe and Aaron Chungu are challenging its legality. But Nkole stated that his appearance before High Court judge Christine Phiri would be inappropriate until and unless imputations on his character were cleared.
In a letter to Nkole dated September 15, 2009 which was also copied to a Mr S Lukangaba, assistant senior state advocate, Task Force chief of administration/operations Diamond Likashi requested Nkole to attend court before judge Phiri.
“Re: Faustin Kabwe and Aaron Chungu vs Attorney General. Subject matter refers. You are requested to kindly ensure attendance of court before judge C.B Phiri at 09:00 hours on Wednesday, September 16, 2009. Find attached hereto copy of a self explanatory letter from Ministry of Justice dated September 15, 2009,” Likashi stated.
And according to the letter to the Task Force acting chairman dated September 15, 2009, assistant senior state advocate S. Lukangaba asked the Task Force to ensure that Nkole attended court on Wednesday September 16, 2009.
“Dear Sir, Re: Faustin Kabwe and Aaron Chungu Vs Attorney General. The above caption refers. The applicants commenced proceedings by way of Judicial Review challenging the legality of the Task Force. Your predecessor Mr Maxwell Nkole deposed to an Affidavit in Opposition of the Notice for Judicial Review,” Lukangaba stated.
“He is required to be cross examined on the facts contained in the Affidavit. Kindly ensure the attendance of Mr Nkole before judge C.B Phiri at 09:00 hours on Wednesday the 16th of September, 2009.”
But in a letter to Lukangaba dated September 16, 2009, which was also copied to the Task Force officer-in-charge and his lawyers Messrs Fraser Associates, Nkole stated that his appearance before justice Phiri would be inappropriate until and unless imputations on his character were cleared.
“With reference to your letter addressed to acting chairman of Task Force on Corruption dated 15th September, and that of Task Force chief administrator of same date marked TFC 64/2/1 requesting my attendance at Court before justice C.B Phiri in the matter above, I wish to inform you that my attendance will be contigent upon certain benchmarks being met by your office. (1) My attendance costs will be paid prior to appearance at K500,000 per hour spent at Court and includes my security,” stated Nkole. “
(2) My transport costs will be paid at K150,000 per kilometer to and fro my residence (wear and tear of car and fuels), bearing in mind that government transport was withdrawn from me by Task force immediately my services were terminated.
(3) A written undertaking from your office to confirm that my service with GRZ were terminated NOT on account of indiscipline on my part, but through a normal lapse of service contract. As you know my four-year service with GRZ was terminated on 26th August, 2009 amid accusations that I defied instructions from government which accusation is of course totally untrue. Besides, prior to my removal, I was never given chance to be held regarding the alleged ‘defiance of instructions'.
“In the foregoing circumstances, my appearance before justice Phiri will be inappropriate until and unless imputations on my character are cleared and an attestation of my good service to government is confirmed by your office through a written letter addressed to me. Further correspondence on this matter should be addressed to my lawyers Messers “Fraser Associates” of Fintex Building, Lusaka, who by copy of this letter have my instructions to act for me.”
Labels: COURTS, MAX NKOLE, TASK FORCE
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A thief takes Mutembo to LAZ
Written by Editor
It pays to be honest and sincere with one’s people. Those whose calling is to work for the public should realise that working for others demands honesty, integrity, humility and sincerity.One cannot be a master and a servant at the same time. But it would appear that people who hold public office in our country do not truly see themselves as servants of the people.
And given the low level of political consciousness of our people, those who represent them often take advantage of them: they rob them of their meagre resources and get away with it; they tell them lies and get away with it; they deceive and manipulate them in every conceivable way and get away with it.
Behaving in this way has become a culture of our public servants. Our public servants have no respect for the taxpayer. And although they know that the source of their remuneration is the taxpayer, they actually consciously don’t realise that the money they use is a product of the sweat and toil of that poor worker, of that struggling entrepreneur, of that marketeer who every day has to wake up three hours or so before sunrise. What happens is they take the money earned by these humble people and use it against them, to rule and govern against them. We see this every day. And we have clearly seen this over the last two weeks.
Rupiah Banda, who was languishing on some poor farm in Chipata, today can mingle with the rich, the famous, the powerful because of the power and resources given to him by these same humble people. But instead of respecting and honouring their efforts, Rupiah finds it more expedient to befriend, to favour those who have robbed them, those who have humiliated them, those who have left them helpless and in despair.
The same can be said about many other public servants in our country. It can be said about the Director of Public Prosecutions, Chalwe Mchenga. Instead of ensuring that obligations to the people take precedence over loyalty to Rupiah and Frederick Chiluba, Mchenga has chosen to go where power and money are being dispensed instead of going to the source of that power and money.
Real power does not lie with Rupiah or Chiluba, or indeed Mchenga himself; real power lies with the people. Anyone who looks at things this way will have a different set of priorities from those being exhibited by Rupiah and his minion Mchenga, among others.
However, there are many sons and daughters of this country who have dedicated their lives to honest and selfless public service. And such men and women, boys and girls have not had it easy with those who have gotten power through all sorts of deceptions and manipulation. They are every day being fought; there are attempts every day to humiliate them, to undermine their work and to paint them black.
Examples of this abound. But there is one good example that has come up in the last two weeks. And that is of Maxwell Nkole, the dismissed chairman of the Task Force on Corruption. Max performed his duties at the Task Force with sufficient honour and integrity. We say this because if this was not the case, Rupiah and his friends would have been very quick to use that against him.
It is an insult for Rupiah to accuse Max of indiscipline. Where does Max’s indiscipline lie? In not subscribing to a corrupt scheme to let their friend Chiluba go scot-free when the man has committed so many crimes against the poor people of this country? Actually, indiscipline lies with Rupiah and Mchenga. What claims of discipline can Rupiah legitimately make? Can Rupiah’s conduct inspire discipline in the nation? Rupiah is not known for discipline; he is much more famous for indiscipline.
As for Mchenga, his record of indiscipline is there for all to see. He is disciplined in obeying illegitimate schemes. Can obeying the corrupt orders to grant Kashiwa Bulaya a nolle prosequi be said to be discipline? Can obeying corrupt orders to take back Bulaya to court after prostituting himself on the same score be said to be discipline? Where does Mchenga’s discipline lie? It lies in indiscipline, in going against the wishes of the Zambian taxpayers in favour of some corrupt politicians.
Those who serve the people truthfully will always be the enemies of those who seek to rape the people. How can Chiluba in all fairness go to the Law Association of Zambia (LAZ) and complain that public prosecutor Mutembo Nchito has disobeyed the orders of Mchenga in filing that notice of appeal against his acquittal by magistrate Jones Chinyama?
What gives Chiluba this kind of audacity? How can a thief complain against a prosecutor for doing his job? Since when did Chiluba become Mchenga’s representative? Are they now playing in the same league? Anyway, it is said that those who refuse to learn from history are bound to make the mistakes of history.
It is not the first time that Mutembo is being taken before the Law Association of Zambia for allegedly disobeying Mchenga’s instructions. In 2005, we remember Levy Mwanawasa calling upon the Law Association of Zambia to discipline Mutembo because according to the advice George Kunda had given him, Mutembo had refused to obey Mchenga’s instructions to withdraw the case against Bulaya. Like Mchenga today, Levy said the Bulaya case should be withdrawn because it had no merit.
We all know today that the Bulaya case was a damn good case, it had all the merits and Bulaya is in jail. And yet at that time, Levy, George and Mchenga had wanted Mutembo disciplined by the Law Association of Zambia because according to them, he had refused to obey instructions.
We seem to find ourselves in a very similar situation. Mutembo, acting as a public prosecutor, filed an appeal on behalf of the state. Mchenga accused him of purporting to act in his name and withdrew the appeal. And now Chiluba has laid a complaint at the Law Association of Zambia on behalf of Mchenga, or in defence of Mchenga. How can a thief defend the dignity of the office of the Director of Public Prosecutions? This is simply a way of a thief saying thank you for setting me free. That’s all Chiluba is doing: thanking Mchenga for helping him escape jail.
Maybe our people have forgotten. But the Law Association of Zambia told us that when Mutembo appeared to hear the allegations against him from Levy and his friends, the state gagged him, telling him not to talk. The same people who were accusing him were telling him not to talk. In the end, the Law Association of Zambia decided that Mutembo had done nothing wrong. Shamelessly, Mchenga allowed the case to go back to court. We don’t see anything different this time. The only thing that may be different is that there are new players at the Law Association of Zambia whose independence from those who govern, from Rupiah, Chiluba and Mchenga, is yet to be seen. This is the history before us, a history that is quickly repeating itself. But men and women must follow the dictates of their conscience irrespective of the consequences that might overtake them for it. Let it never be said by future generations that indifference, cynicism or selfishness made us fail to live up to the ideals of a more just, fair and humane society. It is in the character of growth that we should learn from both pleasant and unpleasant experiences. It is intolerable and unacceptable that the cancer of corruption is still eating away at the fabric of our society with impunity. But the great lesson of our time is that no regime can survive if it acts above the heads of ordinary citizens of the country. Zambians are conscious of their obligations to do whatever they can to contribute to the fight against corruption, abuse of public office and other evil things of the same nature.
Things are really repeating themselves. And we should be determined to know what happened in the past to ensure that it is not repeated. And this past we are talking about is not very long ago, it’s just three, four or five years ago. Nevertheless, it is a history that needs to be known or remembered. We say this because the past is a rich resource on which we can draw in order to make decisions for the future. And the purpose for looking at the past, at what happened yesterday is not to deride human action, nor to weep over it or to hate it, but to understand it – and then to learn from it as we contemplate our future.
Labels: CORRUPTION, MAX NKOLE, MUTEMBO NCHITO
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Dr Mutesa criticises DPP’s handling of Chiluba’s case
Written by George Chellah
Wednesday, September 02, 2009 3:56:54 PM
ZAMBIANS for Empowerment and Development (ZED) president Dr Fred Mutesa yesterday said Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) Chalwe Mchenga should have allowed former president Frederick Chiluba's case to be comprehensively dealt with.
Commenting on Mchenga's decision to withdraw the state's appeal against Chiluba's acquittal on corruption charges, Dr Mutesa said when Chiluba exposed State House tunnels, he sent a message that he was a champion of transparency.
"We in ZED have made transparency one of our core values against which leadership in the nation is to be evaluated. We believe that the loser in the Chiluba case is transparency which he himself purported to stand by when he was in office," Dr Mutesa said. "Dr Chiluba needed to put to rest the suspicions of those who feel that the course of justice was not well served by magistrate Chinyama's ruling."
He said it was not too late for Chiluba to explain to the nation.
"... for instance, how he came by the US $8 million which found its way into the government Zamtrop account. To silence his critics, Dr Chiluba just needs to explain who gave him the money and why," he said.
Dr Mutesa said his party also felt that the stir that followed the Task Force on Corruption's appeal of Chiluba's acquittal was unnecessary.
"The due process of the law should have been allowed to run its course. Had Dr Chiluba been convicted, we would have expected him to appeal," Dr Mutesa said. "In the same vein, the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) should have allowed the Task Force's appeal to go all the way to the Supreme Court if necessary so that the case is comprehensively dealt with."
Dr Mutesa said ZED was equally appalled with the state's failure to come clean on the reasons behind the dismissal of former Task Force on Corruption chairman Max Nkole.
"The nation was first informed that Nkole's dismissal had to do with government's prerogative to renew or not to renew his contract which we were made to understand expired last year," Dr Mutesa said.
"President Banda's disclosure to Zambians living in Swaziland that Nkole was fired because of the move by the Task Force to appeal Dr Chiluba's acquittal is, therefore, to say the least, contradictory."
Labels: CHALWE MCHENGA, CHILUBA, CORRUPTION, DPP, FRED MUTESA, MAX NKOLE
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The truth will be known
Written by Editor
It is surprising that Rupiah Banda did not want to tell the Zambian people that he had fired Max Nkole. Rupiah instead decided to be economical with the truth to the Zambian people by simply telling them that Nkole’s contract had simply expired.
And he did not even announce this himself but he decided to use the Secretary to the Cabinet, Dr Joshua Kanganja, to be the burden bearer and do the dirty deed for him.
Addressing Zambians living in Swaziland on Saturday, Rupiah was forced to admit that Nkole was fired over his decision to appeal against Frederick Chiluba’s acquittal.
Rupiah told his audience that he had fired Nkole because he was indisciplined by defying the decision of the Director of Public Prosecutions not to appeal. He explained that it was indiscipline on the part of Nkole, who was appointed by the president, to defy the Director of Public Prosecutions’ decision not to appeal against Chiluba’s acquittal.
Not long ago, we told our people that the truth about Chiluba’s acquittal will become known. We said then that it might be tomorrow, next week, next month or next year, but the truth will be known. Truth is stubborn. No matter how hard its adversary – falsehood – may try to overwhelm it, truth refuses to yield. This is what is happening with Rupiah and his minions. They are trying to hide the truth. But stubborn truth is revealing itself.
It must now be clear to all our people that Chiluba’s acquittal is very much tied to the decision not to appeal by Rupiah and his minions. It is now clear to everybody that this is the way they wanted things to be and anyone who tried to stand in their way was a spoiler who had to be dealt with ruthlessly.
Seeing what has happened to Nkole and the reasons Rupiah has given for his dismissal, can anyone expect Chalwe Mchenga, the Director of Public Prosecutions, to act otherwise? And as we have stated before, Mchenga has never taken a risk with those in power. He has no record of stepping on the toes of those in power, of the president for that matter. In the eyes of Rupiah, Mchenga would pass for a disciplined public officer.
Having been appointed by the president, according to Rupiah, one needs to obey the decisions or orders of the state. And we all know that at the helm of the state is Rupiah himself. Nkole was dismissed for not obeying the orders of the state, for going against the wishes of the state, of Rupiah – the head of that state.
At least Nkole has a record of being able to stand up for what is right and taking on the highest authorities. This is the record Nkole left in the police. Nkole proved himself to be a man who is prepared to stand by the truth even if everyone is against him. Mchenga doesn’t have such a record.
Mchenga’s known record is that of a spineless person who is prepared to do anything those in power ask of him. And this is why today Mchenga is looking like a big fish in a jar. He has no independence to talk about. He will always side with the government on a contested issue, not with what is right. It seems to Mchenga right or wrong is a secondary consideration. The truth is only acceptable if it serves the whims of his masters.
It is now clear to every Zambian that Rupiah has abused his office to allow Chiluba to go scot-free. But in doing so, he acted with the assistance or complicity of Mchenga and other spineless characters. This is corruption for which all those involved in this criminal complicity will have to answer for in the future. Rupiah will not be in power forever.
And as long as he lives, his immunity will one day be removed, and he will be made to account for this and other sins. Mchenga also feels protected today by Rupiah and others in government. But their day to go will come and Mchenga will be left naked and powerless. Again, this will be an opportunity for the Zambian people to have their justice against him. There is no one who is above the law.
Mchenga should not deceive himself that the powers and protections of the office of Director of Public Prosecutions will protect him from being made accountable for the abuse of that office. There is no doubt Mchenga has criminally abused that office. And in the future when the political environment has changed, Mchenga will have to be made to account for these abuses. He will not be allowed to hide behind powers and protections that were meant for genuine and honest mistakes or poor judgment.
What Mchenga is doing is not a product of oversight, limited legal knowledge; it is deliberate and conscious. He has simply decided to engage in abuses of office to please his corrupt masters. Today he is safe, very safe. Even the noise that Michael Sata and others are making for him to leave that office will not shake him, will not affect him because uncle Rupiah is there for him, no one can touch him. But this is being very shortsighted because both he and Rupiah will soon be powerless. It may take another two years, or another seven years before they can be made to account for their crimes but the time will come for them to do so.
Nkole has done all of us a huge favour. He has exposed the dishonesty and duplicity of Rupiah and his minions for everyone to see. Rupiah can pretend to be fighting for constitutional order in firing Nkole for ‘defying the Director of Public Prosecutions’. But we all know that this is nonsense. Firing Nkole has nothing to do with Mchenga. Rupiah wants people like Nkole and Mchenga to dance to his tune. This is the kind of government he is running. If Nkole had defied Mchenga but was in agreement with Rupiah, nothing would have happened to Nkole.
We have not forgotten that a few months ago, Dora Siliya ignored the advice of the Attorney General and cost the country huge amounts of money, over US $2 million and more to come. What did Rupiah say? What did Rupiah do? He did not jump to defend the Constitution. But he instead jumped to defend Dora and her misdeeds. Rupiah rebuked the Attorney General publicly and accused him of all sorts of things, including suggesting that the documents The Post used to expose the Zamtel scam were leaked by his chambers. Rupiah went on to praise Dora as being smarter than those who were criticising her. This is the Rupiah that we know. Nkole was fired for trying to do what was right for the Zambian people. It had nothing to do with defying Mchenga.
At least the appeal has smoked Rupiah and his minions out of their fox holes. And for this, credit goes to Nkole. Now the people can see who was working to defend Chiluba’s crimes. They were convinced their work would remain hidden but it is now clear for everybody to see. And Rupiah will pay a price for this. A politician who abuses the people usually lives to regret that day. This is what Rupiah has done. For whatever reason, Rupiah has staked his political fortunes with Chiluba, hoping to win the Bemba-speaking people’s vote that eluded him last year. But it will not be long before he realises that our people are not foolish and are not as cheap as he thinks they are. Poor they may be, but not cheap.
By using Dr Kanganja to fire Nkole, Rupiah tried to hide his blatant abuse of power in favour of Chiluba. But where are we today? Rupiah has been forced to admit that he fired Nkole, Dr Kanganja was just used. It’s not just Dr Kanganja who has been used in this way. Mchenga too has been used to deliver what Rupiah wanted – no appeal. The court also delivered a judgment that Rupiah wanted and he rejoiced over it before the reading of it was over. There is no need to say too many things over this issue because things are coming out on their own, without our probing. They will tell the nation, in one way or another, everything they have done. It’s just a matter of time.
Labels: CHALWE MCHENGA, CORRUPTION, JUDICIARY, MAX NKOLE, RUPIAH BANDA
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Nkole asks lawyers to look into his contract
Written by Patson Chilemba
Tuesday, September 01, 2009 4:33:23 PM
FORMER Task Force on Corruption chairperson Maxwell Nkole has asked his lawyers to look into the matter of his contract termination. In an interview, Nkole said there were legal consequences with regards to termination of his contract as Task Force on Corruption chairperson by President Rupiah Banda's government.
"First of all, the issue of my contract is a matter that my lawyers will have to deal with. I said that I didn't object to the termination of my contract. But there are legal consequences to that. It is a matter that is subject to administrative legal interpretation. So my lawyers will be looking into that," he said.
President Banda has said he fired Nkole for indiscipline because he defied the Director of Public Prosecutions' advice not to appeal against former president Frederick Chiluba's acquittal before studying the judgment.
On Chiluba, who has written to the Law Association of Zambia (LAZ) to complain against Task Force on Corruption prosecutor Mutembo Nchito, claiming that he 'illegally' filed a Notice of Appeal against his acquittal on theft charges involving US$500,000, Nkole said Chiluba and his spokesperson Emmanuel Mwamba were acting from a point of ignorance. He said the Task Force was created by the executive powers of the President, and Mwamba did not know how the Task Force was structured.
"Yes, he [Nchito] is an agent of the DPP, but in his day-to-day duties, he gets instructions from the Task Force, and he has been designated to come and work with the Task Force by the DPP on behalf of the DPP. Mr. Mwamba is entitled to his opinion. It is up to LAZ to call the evidence," he said.
Nkole said it was impossible to fight corruption without strong political will because such a fight was bound to fail.
Asked if there was strong political will from President Banda's government to fight corruption, Nkole responded: "I am a witness on behalf of the state. So I have a position as a witness on most of these issues."
In a letter written for and on behalf of Chiluba to LAZ president Stephen Lungu dated August 27, 2009, Mwamba stated that Nchito's conduct amounted to deliberately breaking the law by attempting to appeal without lawful instructions or directives.
Nkole stated that Nchito had repeatedly presented himself in court that he was a representative or agent of the DPP and in some circumstances had produced letters of appointment from the DPP when his status was under question.
And addressing Zambians living in Swaziland on Saturday, President Rupiah Banda revealed that he had fired Nkole because he was indisciplined. President Banda said Nkole had defied the Director of Public Prosecutionsí advice not to appeal against Chiluba’s acquittal before studying the judgment.
“For me, it was indiscipline on Mr Nkole’s part. Mr Nkole was appointed by the president, so when he defied the DPP’s advice, I failed to sign the renewal of his contract. I said to myself, how can I work with such a person who does not want to listen to advice and follow regulations?” President Banda said.
He said Nkole’s contract had already expired five months earlier by the time the decision was made not to renew it.
“The contract overshot but I let him continue to operate until he decided to ignore advice by the state,” he said.
President Banda said for now, he would sit back and listen to people’s opinions on the issue.
“I am under extreme pressure to take Dr Chiluba back to court but I am saying that I should be given chance to listen to my advisors,” said President Banda.
But when Nkole was fired, Secretary of the Cabinet Dr Joshua Kanganja issued a statement saying Nkole’s contract had expired.
Labels: CHILUBA, DPP, MAX NKOLE, TASK FORCE
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RB explains why he fired Nkole
Sunday, August 30, 2009, 15:06
President Rupiah Banda has said that government fired former Task Force on Corruption Chairman Max Nkole because he defied government advise over former president Chiluba’s acquittal.
President Banda said Mr. Nkole’s failure to heed advise from the Director of Public Prosecution (DPP) Chalwe Mchenga following Dr. Chiluba’s acquittal amounted to indiscipline.
The President said this in Matsapha, Swaziland when he addressed the Zambian community living in that country.
He said Mr. Nkole went ahead to appeal against the former president Chiluba’s acquittal in Ndola High Court, ignoring advise from the DPP to allow his office study the judgment first before taking such a move.
Mr. Banda said the DPP had all the constitutional powers to prosecute all criminal cases without interference from anyone.
He said Mr. Nkole should have followed the advise from the DPP before appealing against the acquittal of Mr. Chiluba.
Mr. Banda disclosed that Mr. Nkole’s behaviour also made it difficult for him to renew his contract which expired in November last year. Mr. Nkole’s contract as Task Force on Corruption ended on November 16, 2008.
“Mr. Nkole defied advise given to him by the DPP and decided to deal with the matter in his own way,” The President said.
Mr. Nkole’s appeal against the former president’s acquittal in the Ndola High Court has since been withdrawn by the DPP.
The president told Zambians community in Swaziland that the country was politically stable although it had faced some economic problems brought about by the global financial crisis.
Mr. Banda said he was happy that things did not become worse because there was fear of massive job losses due to closure of companies especially in the mining sector.
He said only one mine had problems and was put on care and maintenance but government has since sorted out the problem with over 1000 people who had lost their jobs re-employed.
President Banda hoped that the National Constitution Conference (NCC)would conclude its business soon and give the country a better constitution than the current one.
He said due to a strong appeal from Zambians in diapora, the NCC has agreed that Zambians should be allowed to have dual citizenship.
Mr. Banda said the current constitution did not allow Zambians to have dual citizenship but the NCC felt that the constitution should be changed to allow that.
The President said there were several reasons why Zambians seek citizenship from other countries.
He said if Zambians who sought citizenship from other countries still wanted to remain Zambians, they should not be denied that opportunity.
And the Association of Zambian Nationals in Swaziland (AZANAS) has appealed to government to speed up the processing of new passports for Zambians living abroad.
AZANAS President Dickson Mukunda said only few Zambians in living in Swaziland had so far acquired new passports.
Rev. Mukunda said the rest were still waiting for the passport one year after submitting the forms to the Zambian Mission in Mozambique.
The AZANAS president also appealed to the President Banda to extend the deadline for the renewal of passports.
President Banda said he would ensure that the Passport Office speed up the issuance of passports to Zambians living abroad.
Those who attended the meeting included Finance and National Planning Minister Situmbeko Musokotwane, Zambia’s Ambassador to Mozambique Agness Ngoma and government officials from both countries.
ZANIS
Labels: CHALWE MCHENGA, DPP, MAX NKOLE, RUPIAH BANDA
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Senior civil servants must declare assets, says Nkole
Written by Lambwe Kachali
Saturday, January 31, 2009 11:02:45 AM
TASK Force on Corruption executive chairman Max Nkole yesterday said all senior civil servants must declare their assets and liabilities before holding public offices to prevent them from abusing public resources.
And Patriotic Front (PF) spokesperson Given Lubinda said the Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) in its current framework cannot execute its work effectively.
Meanwhile, Transparency International Zambia (TIZ) president Reuben Lifuka said the fight against corruption was being approached in an ad hoc way.
Featuring on ‘Let the People Talk’ programme on Radio Phoenix yesterday, Nkole said it was worrying that recent reports had continued to reveal that corruption was more rampant in government institutions.
He said there was urgent need to enact a law to compel all senior civil servants to declare their assets and liabilities before holding public office.
Nkole said this would help investigating wings to establish whether such people stole or plundered public money after their tenure of office.
He, however, wondered what Zambian politicians feared to enact such a law when countries like Nigeria and South Africa, among others, had implemented similar pieces of legislation.
“The recent report by the [acting] director general of the Anti-Corruption Commission alluded to the fact that government institutions are the most corrupt and thatís a big indictment. It also pin points the fact that therefore, there is need for us to check the status of these people before they hold public office. And I think I would advocate for a law to be put in place requiring that all senior government civil servants declare their assets,î he said.
Nkole said there was currently no political will in Zambia as far as the fight against corruption was concerned.
He also challenged parliamentarians to tell the nation how they would help fight corruption in the country.
They have a part to play because they are representing the people and the people they represent are the victims of this corruption,î said Nkole.
And Lubinda said unless more funds were allocated to ACC, it would be difficult for the institution to meet expectations of the Zambians in the fight against corruption.
Last time I checked, they [ACC] only had 11 intelligent officers, and 92 investigative officers for the whole country. How do you expect them to be effective? You cannot expect the ACC to go and investigate all those people building mansions,” he said.
He said last year, parliament approved K32 billion for ACC but only K21 billion was released by government, which he said was not enough for the institution to carry out its work effectively.
Lubinda further said although he, together with other members of parliament, attempted to push for the enactment of a law to compel senior government officials declare their assets and liabilities before holding public office, Cabinet ministers opposed the amendment.
“They actually called me nonsensical; they were saying there was nowhere in any democratic society with such laws. Some ministers said this was draconian and my thinking was wacked. As a result of that, my bill collapsed,” said Lubinda. Now, this to me demonstrates that while some members of parliament are committed to come up with laws to fight corruption, there are some people in government who would fight tooth and nail if those laws are not enacted.”
And Lifuka said despite the efforts and money pumped into the fight against corruption, there was no sufficient progress.
He said it was also important to broaden the fight and not focus on a few individuals.
“The late president [Levy Mwanawasa] came into office with the aspect of zero tolerance to corruption, and we all know, he was a disciplinarian in that regard. He wanted to fight corruption. But, can anyone explain to me why in his tenure, there are number of cases, cases in the Auditor Generalís report have increased; are we pouring resources in the right area? Where are we missing the point,” asked Lifuka. “We need to call for revaluation. What is it that we need to do? Are we providing the right leadership? So the challenge is that we need to have a very clear vision, we need to have very clear strategies, strategies that we know can work.
Meanwhile, ACC community awareness officer Festus Chipungu charged that both politicians and the civil society organisations were not doing their part to help curb the scourge.
Chipungu said the civil society was mostly speaking for themselves and not for the people.
“I want to believe that ACC has done its role. The politicians have their role to play but they have not played very well. Let me go to civil society, because these civil society organisations must be the mouthpiece of the public. But you find that civil society in their fight against corruption is much more speaking for themselves than the public. They are much more speaking for the sake of attacking government instead of helping government to solve the problem and as a result there is antagonism between civil society and government and when there is that antagonism, we are not going to find a common solution,” said Chipungu.
“We expect civil society to be more tactical and engage government at round table discussion, and say where do we go, what do we do to reduce corruption?”
Labels: CIVIL SERVANTS, CORRUPTION, GIVEN LUBINDA, MAX NKOLE, RUEBEN LIFUKA, TIZ
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Most plunderers are jittery – Nkole
Written by Lambwe Kachali and Allan Mulenga
Monday, December 29, 2008 9:24:42 AM
TASK Force on Corruption chairman Max Nkole yesterday said former president Frederick Chiluba was issuing unwarranted statements because he has felt the heat of the work of the Task Force.
And Transparency International Zambia (TIZ) president Rueben Lifuka has said that Chiluba is just raving and ranting by accusing the Task Force on Corruption of conniving with The Post to push propaganda against him.
In an interview, Nkole said most alleged corrupt people and plunderers of national resources with cases in court were jittery with what the Task Force was doing.
Nkole said the Task Force was not surprised at Chiluba's outbursts against the institution because he was scared of the level at which his cases had reached.
"I agree entirely with what the Attorney General Mumba Malila has said in today's [yesterday's] Post," Nkole said. "You know the Task Force has registered tremendous success on all fronts abroad and at home including the return of the fugitives. And most of the cases at home are being cleared while some of them are at defence stage. So, the overall picture is that the Task Force has worked tremendously well and very effectively. So it [Task Force] is scaring a lot of people including Chiluba. For us, such outbursts are expected from many other people involved in these cases."
He said the Task Force was not shaken by Chiluba's allegations and vowed to continue and finish all cases.
Nkole said it was disrespectful for Chiluba to say that the Attorney General required legal counsel, saying Malila had constitutional powers to advise him [Chiluba] whenever he was wrong.
"I think it is not the right word to use to the Attorney General. He is the chief legal and government legal officer. So the Attorney General knows exactly the status of his [Chiluba] cases and the Attorney General has got powers to advise him. I further agree with the Attorney General's observation that Chiluba is just trying to divert the attention. But we are determined to go ahead and complete these cases and finish them. Dr Chiluba is scared of the work that we are doing. He has felt the heat. We have been able to fish out the fugitives, they have come and have been arrested," he said.
Nkole said he wished Chiluba could clear his cases soon so that he could begin to live a normal life again.
"The attack on the Task Force is unfortunate because the Task Force has done a commendable job on these corruption cases. So I would only say that please let us allow the process of the law to move so that these cases can clear. We wish him well so that he can clear his cases in good time so that normality can return," said Nkole.
And Lifuka urged Chiluba to stop taking Zambian people for granted, as well as insulting their intelligence.
"On former president Chiluba's raving and ranting, we find this unwarranted and a vain attempt to divert attention from the cases that are before the courts of law. The allegations made against him [Chiluba] are serious and should not be trivialised by such comments," he said.
Lifuka reminded Chiluba how he sought evidence whenever he was confronted with questions about his misdeeds during his tenure of office.
"During his reign, Chiluba always asked for evidence when challenged on corruption that was evident in his administration. Today, he is facing a stern test where the Task Force and other law enforcement agencies are satisfying his wish for evidence by raising key details in court," he said.
Lifuka further advised Chiluba to use the courts to clear himself of the blame rather than resorting to throwing mud at everyone.
"Let him use the courts to absolve himself of blame but he should not do this by throwing mud at everyone," said Lifuka.
On Saturday, Malila said Chiluba was lying that the Zambian government entered a consent judgement with his Swiss tailor Antonio Basile who has been ordered to pay back US $1.2 million taxpayers’ money which was used to buy his suits, shirts, pyjamas and shoes.
Malila was reacting to Chiluba's claims that the London judgement had collapsed following a successful appeal by Meer Care & Desai in the House of Lords, which Malila dismissed as a lie.
However, Chiluba also maintained that the Task Force had actively engaged in acts of propaganda and deception.
Labels: CHILUBA, CORRUPTION, MAX NKOLE, RUEBEN LIFUKA, TIZ
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Extension of Task Force's mandate a challenge - Nkole
By Mwila Chansa
Tuesday May 20, 2008 [04:00]
TASK FORCE chairperson Max Nkole has stated that the indefinite extension of the entity’s mandate marks a challenge for it to perform better as more significant results are expected from it. And Nkole has stated that the extension would enable the entity propose more effective operational structures, introduce operational guidelines, create morale and confidence in the minds of investigators and other staff.
Nkole explained that there was growing confidence in the Task Force’s investigative and prosecutorial capabilities.
“To the management of Task Force, the extension means the performance of the entity has exceeded expectation,” he stated.
He observed that strategies that management had put in place were bearing fruit and that for the first time, Zambians were able to know exactly how their leaders and people in authority abused their power for personal gain.
He cited deterrence, the ongoing asset recovery, successful prosecutions and civil litigations that had been registered as some of the factors that justified the indefinite extension of the Task Force mandate.
Nkole also stated the Task Force had significantly contributed to the growing body of legal jurisprudence.
Other achievements he cited include capacity building to work on complex cases and creating working contacts with international law enforcement agencies and bringing out inadequacies in laws and enforcement institutions with a view to strengthening them in future.
And Nkole stated that the Task Force would continue operating within the parameters of its initial mandate.
“All fresh complaints concerning the current government will continue to be referred to the ACC, DEC and Police depending on appropriateness. We can only deal with such cases if our mandate was reviewed,” Nkole stated.
He also expressed optimism that donors would continue with their spirit and commitment in assisting with good governance issues, especially the fight against corruption.
And Nkole also highlighted the need for a new look institution to deal effectively with grand corruption and other crimes including money laundering and terrorism.
Labels: MAX NKOLE, TASK FORCE
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Task Force denies Nkole offered to 'cut a deal' with Chiluba
By Namakau Nalumango
Wednesday May 14, 2008 [04:00]
THE Task Force on Corruption has denied that its executive chairman Maxwell Nkole offered to drop plunder charges against former president Frederick Chiluba and his co-accused if they surrendered what they stole. In a statement yesterday, Task Force public relations officer Victor Makai said during the Radio Phoenix "Let the people talk" programme last Friday, programme moderator Frank Mutubila asked Nkole in the context of DRC governor Moses Katumbi's settlement agreement if the Task Force could cut a deal with Chiluba.
Makai stated that in his response, Nkole reminded Mutubila that the Task Force did not cut deals especially dirty ones as implied because the cases were before court and that such matters could not be withdrawn except with consent from the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) or the Attorney General.
He stated that it was unfortunate that a wrong impression had been created arising out of an interview Nkole had on Radio Phoenix with Mutubila.
"Secondly, Mr Nkole informed Mr Mutubila that he can recommend an amicable settlement of disputes currently under investigation such as the ongoing Carlington maize deal in which Dr F.T.J Chiluba together with others were suspects," Makai stated. "This could be done by entering into an agreement with him to facilitate the return of the money, which was allegedly stolen.
To this extent, the treatment which was applied to Mr Katumbi was also available to him, such that recommendation to settle would be made in the best interests of the parties in order to cut down the huge costs of litigation and was aimed at enhancing clear up of the Task Force cases which had taken so long to conclude now that the lifespan of the Task Force was coming to an end."
Makai further stated that Nkole's answer to Mutubila's question was misunderstood to imply that he intended to make a deal with Chiluba regarding his ongoing criminal prosecution. He also accused The Post of carrying an inaccurate report in last Saturday's edition where Nkole was quoted as having said the Task Force was ready to drop Chiluba's charges if he returned the money he stole.
"The executive chairman's statement was in no way intended to have any influence whatsoever on any on-going case before any court against Dr Chiluba nor to stop future prosecution on any other matter which might be brought up. The timing of the interview together with the questionnaire was something which was arranged and prepared by Radio Phoenix and not the executive chairman," Makai stated. "It is very unfortunate that a misunderstanding has been created in the minds of many due to the inaccurate report contained in the Saturday edition of The Post. The Task Force on Corruption does not believe in influencing matters before court but has a mandate to recover plundered assets through an investigation which might lead to criminal prosecution and or/civil litigation whichever is appropriate.
"With this clarification, we hope there will be no more misunderstanding as to our resolve to prosecute all forms of corruption and recover public assets as defined in the Task Force on Corruption mandate."
But Post managing editor Amos Malupenga maintained that Nkole was quoted accurately in the story that was carried arising from the discussion on Radio Phoenix.
Below is a verbatim account of part of Nkole's interview on Radio Phoenix.
Mutubila: Just a layman's question, Max. If these people you have taken to court including president Chiluba came to you and said 'look, we are surrendering these assets. We are returning some of the monies'. Would you cut a deal?
Nkole: Yes.
Mutubila: You would?
Nkole: Yes, because even the Head of State had at one time said 'why don't you bring back the money that you took and we would consider,’ you know, to drop any other charges and he said, I mean, the former president said he cannot do that. Now if you look at the mandate of the Task Force, the Task Force is mandated to recover as a separate activity, to prosecute when there's evidence. So we have got, you know, options to consider when we are looking at these cases. If, in fact, we were able to trace these assets and recovered them and empower the people, the Task Force would have achieved its mandate.
Mutubila: Right. One other question before my colleagues respond. Before I lose my thought, we've been talking about maize, mataba here, you know, the Carlington issue. Former president Chiluba is saying you interrogated him that is why he couldn't give you any evidence. A quick response to that Max? How are you proceeding with the Carlington issue?
Nkole: It is within his right and it is also in our practice, a duty on our part when you look at somebody as a suspect. He should be reminded of his rights - which is he may remain silent, not say anything. He may also opt to want to cooperate and say something in his defence. Former president Chiluba was met and he decided not to say anything either in his defence or otherwise. So when we administered the warn and caution statement, it was just to give him the legal right and opportunity for him to understand that he may be looked at as a suspect.
Now, nothing stops him from coming forward and indeed nothing stops him giving a second statement. I have said, even now, let me repeat that should president Chiluba feel free to talk to us about the Carlington, he's free to come over. After all, we are targeting at recovery. We want to recover the US $7.8 million and I have said and I’m on record saying that he knows so much as to where this money is and as a former head of state, a commander-in-chief, he should be able to assist these investigators to say well 'look, the money you are looking for is there'.
Labels: CHILUBA, MAX NKOLE, TASK FORCE
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Court declines to cite Nkole for contempt
By Noel Sichalwe
Wednesday May 14, 2008 [04:01]
NDOLA High Court deputy registrar Jones Chinyama yesterday declined to cite Task Force chairman Max Nkole for contempt of court. This follows an application by former president Frederick Chiluba's lawyers Robert Simeza and John Sangwa who applied that Nkole be cited for contempt of court.
The application was made after Nkole had issued a statement on Radio Phoenix Let the people talk programme last Friday that the Task Force was ready to drop charges against Chiluba if he could surrender the money he has stolen.
Chiluba is separately charged with Access Financial Services Limited (AFSL) directors Faustin Kabwe and Aaron Chungu. Chiluba is charged with theft of about US$ 488,000.
Making the application before Chinyama who is trial magistrate in Lusaka on Monday, Simeza said he had raised similar concerns in the past and that the court should now take some appropriate action under section 116 (1)(d) of the Penal Code.
However, responding to the application yesterday, Task Force prosecutor Mutembo Nchito said he had time to review the material surrounding the genesis of the article that led to the application for contempt against Nkole.
Nchito said Nkole was invited to appear before a public discussion forum at Radio Phoenix with Transparency International Zambia (TIZ) president Reuben Lifuka and Kabwata member of parliament Given Lubinda.
"My instructions are that the programme did not discuss the matter before you. In fact, it covered quite a wide-range of issues," he said. "Mr Nkole was invited to discuss issues involving settlement that the Task Force has done with the governor of Katanga Province in Congo, Mr Moses Katumbi. He was also challenged on the approach in the Carlington maize transaction, which has been a subject of discussion which unfortunately involves A1 Chiluba. In the context of those discussions, Mr Nkole was asked to state the position on that general principle bearing in mind that they have been discussing many other things among them Carlington where recently A1 was summoned. Turning to the law, this court is not sitting as assessors who might be influenced.
Even assuming that there was contempt which we submit there was not, this court has guided before that unless that contempt is committed in the face of the court, the complainant will have to have recourse to the due process of the law which will allow full investigations."
Nchito said the alleged contempt was a discussion on a radio programme and not before the court. He said it was regrettable that the impression was created that there was an attempt to influence these proceedings.
He however, apoligised for a wrong impression that could have been created.
Passing the ruling, Chinyama said he had considered the application by the defence, read the content of the report and also heard the statement by the prosecutor.
"There is of course no obligation for the prosecution to say things in defence of the contemnor. It is the contemnor who is supposed to defend himself. I have previously guided before in an instance of a similar nature and there was much passionate plea on the part of the defence counsel," he said. "It is not the responsibility of the court to shake its responsibility, but it could be better if the learned counsel prosecute such matter before another court. The best is for the defence to bring motion before the relevant courts to save wasting time and ensure that these proceedings are not disturbed."
And in his defence Kabwe said when Meridian International Bank, his former employer collapsed, he returned to Zambia from New York where he was based.
Kabwe however, expressed surprise at former foreign affairs minister Mundia Sikatana who had claimed that the directors of Meridian Bank had hidden US$90 million in the Bahamas.
Kabwe said these political statements were untrue because Meridian Bank did not hide any money. He said Meridian Bank had serious liquidity problems that led to its collapse.
He said after the collapse of Meridian Bank where he was working, he then decided to form a company, Access Finance Services Limited (AFSL) that could provide financial services to people. He said among the initial shareholders were his wife and a French wealth businessman Jean-Pierre Rosana.
He said he tried to mobilise the initial K250 million as start-up capital after the Bank of Zambia granted him licence to start operating AFSL with his partner Aaron Chungu.
Kabwe said he later started to mobilise more shareholders and that Chungu and Francis Kaunda later became shareholders.
Hearing continues today.
Labels: ACCESS FINANCIAL SERVICES, COURTS, MAX NKOLE, TASK FORCE
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Chiluba's lawyers want Task Force chairman cited for contempt
By Noel Sichalwe
Tuesday May 13, 2008 [05:01]
CHILUBA's lawyers Robert Simeza and John Sangwa yesterday applied that Ndola High Court Registrar Jones Chinyama should cite Task Force chairman Max Nkole for contempt of court. This follows Nkole's statement that the Task Force was ready to drop charges against former president Frederick Chiluba if he surrendered the money he stole.
This is a matter in which Chiluba is separately charged with Access Financial Services Limited (AFSL) directors Faustin Kabwe and Aaron Chungu. Chiluba is charged with theft of about US $488,000.
Making the application before Chinyama who is trial magistrate in Lusaka, Simeza said he had raised similar concerns in the past and that the court should now take some appropriate action under section 116 (1)(d) of the Penal Code.
He said in the Saturday Post of May 10, 2008, there was an article in which Nkole said Chiluba and the other accused persons could have the proceedings against them dropped if they surrendered the money they stole.
"He went further and stated that he was prepared to cut a deal if they..
returned the plundered or stolen assets," Simeza said. "Your Honour, this statement is being issued strategically, two days before the accused persons open their defence before this court. As far as Mr Nkole is concerned, it is a foregone conclusion that the accused persons stole the money, which they stand charged and are appearing before this court. Your Honour, this statement ought to be looked at perhaps seriously as it is made to affect the accused person's conduct of their defence before you."
Simeza said it was clear that Nkole's intention, especially considering the timing, was meant to prejudice the accused persons when they were to open their defence.
He said Nkole's statement intended to undermine the court proceedings and urged the court to summon Nkole to show cause why he could not be convicted for being in contempt of court under section 116 of the Penal Code.
"Your Honour, such conduct may perhaps be ignored if such statements were coming from maybe politicians or people that are not really connected to these prosecutions. But your Honour, we are dealing with a qualified lawyer and he is the person who has caused the accused to appear before you.
Why can't he wait for the outcome of these proceedings? If in fact in his mind the accused persons are already guilty, why are we here?" he asked. "I think it is important that the correct message is sent out there, otherwise if nothing is done, this practice which unfortunately has continued, will be taken as an accepted practice when in fact it is not. Surely, such a statement lowers the authority of this court. We submit that there ought to be an explanation."
Sangwa also said the pronouncement clearly indicated that Nkole had no respect for the court and that the court had inherent jurisdiction and authority to protect the integrity of its office.
"Your Honour, where does Mr Nkole get the courage and boldness to make such pronouncements? Are we to take it that Mr Nkole knows the outcome of these proceedings? Your Honour, you are in charge of these proceedings and you alone has the power to determine the guilty or innocence of the accused. It is your responsibility to ensure the proceedings before you are free and fair and you have got powers to ensure that that is achieved.
We beg you to do something and this is not the first time, previous pronouncements have been made. We want assurances from you that these proceedings are not only a sham whose outcome is already predetermined for Mr Nkole to feel so confident to talk about them," Sangwa said.
In response, state prosecutions lawyer Mutembo Nchito said he needed to consult Nkole before responding to the application.
Meanwhile, Kabwe yesterday opened his defence in which he detailed his education and professional background including his involvement in Meridian International Bank.
Hearing continues today.
Labels: ACCESS FINANCIAL SERVICES, CHILUBA, MAX NKOLE, ROBERT SIMEZA, TASK FORCE
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Charges can be dropped if Chiluba surrenders what he stole, says Nkole
By Namakau Nalumango
Saturday May 10, 2008 [04:00]
CHARGES against former president Frederick Chiluba and others accused of plunder of national resources can be dropped if they surrender what they stole, Task Force on Corruption chairman Maxwell Nkole has said.
Featuring on Let The People Talk programme on Radio Phoenix yesterday, Nkole said if Chiluba and others came forward, the Task Force would 'cut' a deal with them because even President Levy Mwanawasa had offered to drop the charges in an event that they co-operated.
"We would cut a deal because even the head of state had at one time said that 'look why don't you bring back the money and we would reconsider dropping any other charges' but the former president said he cannot do that," Nkole said.
He said the Task Force was mandated to recover the plundered or stolen assets as a separate activity and to prosecute when there was evidence.
“We have options to consider when looking at these cases. If, in fact, we were able to trace these assets and recover them from the people, I think that the Task Force would have discharged its mandate,” he said.
Nkole said the government had been able to make a saving especially that Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) Katanga governor Moses Katumbi surrendered property worth K5.1 billion.
“Essentially, he Katumbi was suing for K17 billion and through this agreement, we have been able to save a possible loss by the government of K17 billion to Mr Katumbi because judgment would have gone either way, anyway, on this matter. In addition, Katumbi surrendered assets worth K5.1 billion, essentially making a saving to the government of K22.1 billion,” he said.
Nkole also disclosed that in 2007, a team of experts came to look at the work of the Task Force in the last six years and produced an evaluation report, which indicated that its work was successful.
“We had been evaluated by experts brought in by the donor community because as you know, we wanted to be as transparent as we could be in terms of trying to make an assessment of our performance. So the cooperating donors brought in a team of experts; two British and two Zambians from Cabinet office representing us.
They did that paper which was presented to government and government has been studying that,” he said.
Nkole said he was aware that many people looked at the work of the Task Force as promises that were yet to be fulfilled.
“I think when I look at the administration of Mwanawasa, history will be written that he successfully waged war against corruption. On my own, I feel that the work that the Task Force has done over the last six years has set a firm foundation upon which this country can be built and meets policies which are to fight corruption,” said Nkole.
Labels: CHILUBA, CORRUPTION, KATUMBI, MAX NKOLE, TASK FORCE
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Katumbi forfeits K1.3bn
By Zumani Katasefa in Kitwe
Friday April 18, 2008 [04:00]
DRC Katanga governor Moses Katumbi has forfeited about K1.3 billion to the Zambian government. Task Force on Corruption chairman Max Nkole told journalists in Kitwe yesterday that Katumbi had signed a deed of surrender regarding his property worth K5.5 billion that was seized by the state and his bank accounts had since been opened.
However, Nkole said the bank credits had been forfeited to the state in respect of the two accounts held at Zambia National Commercial Bank (ZNCB), while other accounts remain frozen until the Task Force settles the matter with Katumbi's lawyers.
Nkole said there was US $80,000 in the dollar account and K950 million in the kwacha account. The money and property were siezed from Katumbi in 2002 when the Task Force instituted investigations in his alleged plunder of national resources.
"I would like to commend the Copperbelt provincial officials who met officials from the Zambia National Commercial Bank Kitwe branch to finalise the agreement, which is in existence between governor Katumbi and the Republic of Zambia signed on 28 June last year aimed at pacifying the disputes that were in the courts of law," he said. "These were signed in the spirit of give and take. We welcome the gesture. With regard to the trunk of emeralds, the Zambia National Commercial Bank gave conditions which should be attended to by Katumbi and his lawyers."
Nkole explained that the Task Force had lifted the restrictions regarding the trunks of emeralds. "It is our desire that when these trunks of emeralds would be opened, we have to be present to confirm the contents." he said. However, Nkole could not state the value of the emeralds saying that could be done by experts.
Nkole also said Katumbi was at liberty to either assist the state in investigations of some corruption cases or not. He said the Task Force could approach Katumbi to help in their investigations but that it was up to him to accept or not. Nkole said Katumbi was not a suspect and that he would be approached like any other person to assist in the investigations of some corruption cases. And Katumbi thanked and commended the Zambian government for giving him back his property.
Katumbi said Zambians were his brothers and sisters and that the move taken would allow him to start doing business with the Zambian people again. Asked if he would assist the Task Force in its investigations once called upon, Katumbi declined to comment. Earlier, Katumbi had a private meeting at his lawyers' office at Kitwe's Anchris House with officials from the Task Force which lasted for about an hour.
After the meeting, Katumbi walked to ZNCB Business Centre on Obote Avenue as some callboys sang songs of praise for him. Katumbi who arrived yesterday morning in a private jet at Ndola Airport at about 08:00 hours was accompanied by some government officials from the DRC.
Labels: DRC, KATUMBI, MAX NKOLE, TASK FORCE
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Chiluba's 'gifts' to KK's sons attract Task Force
By Amos Malupenga and Patson Chilemba
Wednesday December 05, 2007 [03:00]
The Task Force on Corruption will soon institute investigations to ascertain whether or not former president Frederick Chiluba abused public funds when he bought a house and vehicle for Dr Kenneth Kaunda’s children.
In an interview yesterday, Task Force chairperson Max Nkole said there was need for his officers to follow up on Chiluba’s revelations on Monday that he bought a house in South Africa for Kaweche Kaunda and a Pajero for Col Panji Kaunda using public money from the Zamtrop account.
Nkole said he agreed with The Post’s editorial comment yesterday which called for the investigation of Chiluba on this matter and also for the Task Force to repossess the house from Kaweche because it was acquired using public resources.
“Yes, I agree that we need to make follow-ups on such revelations,” Nkole said. “The levels of abuse of office in this country are beyond what Dr Chiluba talked about. There are many such cases which we have been investigating and some of them we have already taken to court.”
Nkole said the Task Force would have to thoroughly investigate the matter because there were cases where Chiluba did something using his discretion.
“Like in this case of Kaweche and Panji, he could have still used his discretion,” Nkole said. “But during the investigations, we will have to look at his status as a president in terms of the civil service; we will also look at the discretion.
We will also have to interpret some acts and weigh that against discretion. After that, we can tell or conclude whether what he did amounts to abuse of office or can fall within his discretion. Where we find that there was abuse, we will take the matter to court.”
Nkole said this would not be the first time for the Task Force to deal with such a cases.
“We have been dealing with such cases all this time,” he said. “Some of them end up in court but others do not. But in this case, I will not be surprised if officers are dispatched to South Africa to check the existence of this house and also to record some statements from Kaweche.”
And information minister Mike Mulongoti said Chiluba’s moral standing is in question until the corruption charges against him are cleared.
Featuring on MUVI TV’s Eyeball-to-Eyeball programme on Monday night, Mulongoti said it was clear that Chiluba had robbed the people of Zambia as revealed in the London judgment.
He said Chiluba should check himself before alleging that the Zambian people were being robbed by the government through the financial irregularities being revealed in the Auditor General’s report.
“You have no moral right to stand up and say that the people of Zambia were robbed and you are named by a court judgment. How about this indictment (London judgment) which is public record?” Mulongoti asked.
“To begin to open cupboards, you must ensure that there are no skeletons because as soon as you open the cupboards, the skeletons will start falling all over.”
Mulongoti urged Chiluba to exercise restraint because there was a court judgment which showed that he participated in the looting of public coffers.
He said it would be important for Chiluba not to continue acting as though he was an ‘angel’ when it came to the issue of corruption.
“The angel veil was taken away when the court pronounced that he participated in taking away the money from the Zambian people. Until this judgment is reversed by another judgment of the courts, it remains a dark cloth on him,” Mulongoti said.
He said Chiluba allowed the ‘cancer’ of corruption to grow when he was in office and did nothing to stop corruption during his tenure of office.
“For him what I would expect is not to say much about it because every time a matter was reported to him, he said ‘bring the evidence’.
There were issues of people who used public money to have private rentals paid for them. The question of people taking government money until it generated interest started in his administration,” Mulongoti said.
He said there was no truth in Chiluba’s insinuations that the government parastatals have been ordered to move their accounts to Finance Bank and to have their insurances with Professional Insurance Corporation. He said some parastatals chose to shift to the two institutions because of the market forces that were at play.
“In liberalisation, you move to the most cost effective company. Now if you look at the interest rates that were being offered by different companies at the time. At the time it became more cost effective to go to private insurance companies,” said Mulongoti.
Mulongoti urged Chiluba to provide cogent evidence rather than just peddling rumours.
Labels: CHILUBA, CORRUPTION, MAX NKOLE, TASK FORCE, ZAMTROP
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Regina Chiluba will be re-arrested - Nkole
By Amos Malupenga, Laura Mushaukwa and Namakau Nalumango
Saturday August 25, 2007 [04:00]
Regina Chiluba will be re-arrested because the evidence against her is overwhelming, Task Force chairman Max Nkole said yesterday. But former president Frederick Chiluba's wife, Regina, expressed disappointment at the state's decision to enter a nolle prosequi in her case, saying her prosecution was malicious. And Ndola Principal Resident Magistrate Chilombo Phiri has ordered the state to give back the property which was seized from Regina and pay her costs.
Commenting on the nolle prosequi entered by the state in the case where Regina was charged with nine counts of failing to account for possession of property believed to have been stolen, Nkole said the case was still active.
“She will be re-arrested so we can re-start the matter with a new strategy,” Nkole said. “We have to do that in the interest of justice, in the interest of the accused, the state and the court.”
Asked to comment on the court ruling ordering the state to give back to Regina whatever was seized from her, Nkole said the ruling was pre-emptive.
“The court is being pre-emptive,” he said. “I think the court is jumping the gun because the court should be aware that when a nolle is entered, the case is still alive and can be restarted anytime. It is premature for such a court order. In fact, this confirms our fears. We had some fears, that is why we have to re-start this case with a new strategy. This matter has to be handled to the satisfaction of all parties involved.”
Nkole said his team was convinced that they had overwhelming evidence against Regina.
“The DPP Director of Public Prosecutions is of the same view,” Nkole said. “He was heavily consulted before the arrest was effected. Even this nolle was entered with his guidance and direction.”
But Regina expressed disappointment at the nolle.
“I am disappointed that the state decided to bring a nolle at such a late stage, but above all I want to thank my God who is faithful and who is our vindicator,” Regina said. “I would like to thank my husband who has been very supportive and also my lawyers Simeza Sangwa and Associates.”
She hoped the state would abide by the court order and release her assets. Regina said her prosecution was motivated by malice.
The matter was yesterday scheduled for ruling on a case to answer but the complexion of the case changed after senior prosecutions officer Dennis Simwiinga informed the court that the state intended to discontinue the matter by entering a nolle prosequi pursuant to section 81(1) of the Criminal Procedure Code (CPC).
Magistrate Phiri closed the case at the last sitting after the state failed to produce witnesses despite several of her warnings against delaying the matter.
However, magistrate Phiri granted Simwiinga’s application, saying the court had no powers to question the state’s entry of a nolle prosequi.
But defence lawyer Robert Simeza opposed the application contending that it was not competent for the DPP to enter a nolle at this stage after the case was closed for a ruling.
“We seriously oppose this application on the grounds that it is not competent for the DPP to enter a nolle at this late hour after the case has been closed and a ruling is about to be delivered,” Simeza said. “It was open to the DPP to discontinue prosecution before they closed the case. Your Honour this is a classic case of the worst kind of abuse of the court process and malicious prosecution. They should not be allowed.”
At this point Simwiinga chipped in saying the DPP was empowered by section 81(1) of the Criminal Procedure Code to discontinue a matter even when a ruling or judgment was about to be passed.
Simeza then made two applications relating to restitution of property that was seized from Regina and ordering the state to pay costs as a deterrent from bringing about unnecessary prosecutions.
“I wish to make two applications, the first one is for restitution of the property seized from the accused which is being used as exhibits before this court and this is anchored on section 179 of the Criminal Procedure Code,” Simeza said. “Your Honour, the property in question includes the motor vehicles, bank accounts which have been frozen and the rest of the property. The second application is an order that my client be awarded costs for these clearly unnecessary and malicious proceedings which were brought against her. It was clear from the beginning that the state had no case against my client but they went ahead to put her at great expense in order to defend herself. The state must be made to pay expenses arising from this action to act as a deterrent so that they should think twice next time. The state should not be allowed to abuse its authority and power to its citizens.”
Simeza noted that the state decided to discontinue the case after they realised that their case had collapsed.
“Your Honour, don’t allow your court to be abused by the state,” Simeza pleaded.
Simwiinga objected to Simeza’s application, contending that the accused was discharged, not acquitted, meaning the state could still re-arrest her and the same exhibits could be used.
“You cannot question a nolle, on the exhibits we submit that the application should not be allowed as the state may re-arrest the accused person and use the same exhibits,” Simwiinga argued. “On the second application Your Honour, the accused person was brought before this honourable court through the normal legal procedure as to whether this prosecution is malicious is a matter of evidence. The defence cannot allege abuse of authority without evidence. Costs should not be awarded. Section 81(1) is law, the state did not make it neither did the court. The court’s duty is to interpret the law and the DPP is merely exercising his legal powers.”
But Simeza dismissed Simwiinga’s argument as illogical, saying the proceedings had ended, meaning his client was free and that if the DPP decided to start new proceedings, they would be under a different cause.
He wondered what would happen to the exhibits in the event that the DPP did not start new proceedings or if the new proceedings were to be brought before a different court.
“What happens to these exhibits, are they forfeited?” asked Simeza.
He argued that it was not a matter of evidence that the prosecution was malicious because things spoke for themselves and that the conduct of the state needed to be frowned upon.
Meanwhil, there was jubilation inside and outside the courtroom as Regina’s supporters sang worship and praise songs such as Ba Lesa ba weme while Regina waved at them and walked around the court precincts in an ecstacy of joy.
The supporters escorted Regina, swarming her car until she drove away while police tried to control them.
Labels: COURTS, MAX NKOLE, REGINA CHILUBA
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