Something is seriously wrong with Chiluba and his acquittal
Written by Editor
There is a lot that is happening since Frederick Chiluba’s acquittal on Monday that raises a number of questions.
Chiluba’s own acquittal raises many questions. Without attempting to delve into the merits or demerits of Chiluba’s acquittal, many people are asking how such an intelligent magistrate, lawyer like Jones Chinyama can acquit Chiluba and at the same time convict Faustin Kabwe and Aaron Chungu. Faustin and Aaron were convicted for failing to explain the K70 million that was used to buy shares for Aaron in Access Financial Services Limited.
This is interesting because Chiluba told Chinyama that he had US $8 million in a government account whose sources he could not explain and yet he was acquitted. We could raise many questions about how such an intelligent judicial officer came up with such a clearly questionable and contradictory decision.
We will also be forgiven for asking: what happened on Friday, August 14? Chinyama should have delivered his 445 page judgment on that day. He simply did not sit and in such a high profile matter has offered no explanation for not delivering his judgment when he should have. From the little law that we have learnt, we know that justice must not just be done, it must also be seen to be done.
Against this background, it is interesting to see Chiluba characteristically jumping up and down claiming all sorts of things. Now that he knows that he has Rupiah Banda’s protection, support and patronage, Chiluba is now wanting to go back to parliament to pre-empt or thwart any chances of him being held accountable for the many sins he has committed. Chiluba knows very well that the money involved in his fraudulent schemes is much more than the US $500,000 for which he was being prosecuted in the Magistrate’s Court in Lusaka.
Chiluba, whatever he says now, is an accomplished thief and facts speak for themselves. He knows that there is a London High Court judgment waiting to be registered and enforced against him. This is why he is jumping back to Parliament hoping that this case can be stopped.
There is no way Chiluba would have such courage to try and move Parliament unless he knows that Rupiah will facilitate and back him. This is not surprising because Rupiah thinks Chiluba was a damn good president and expects Zambians to be happy with the acquittal. It’s okay Rupiah can keep his friend out of prison but he should not be allowed to help him keep the money he has stolen from the Zambian people to himself when there is a court judgment to facilitate the return to the Zambian people of the money Chiluba stole.
But it is said that thieves have no shame; that is why they are thieves because a person with shame cannot steal from such a poor country, one of the world’s poorest countries, one of the world’s poorest nation and people. We say this because Chiluba knows that even the house in which he is today sleeping in Kabulonga’s Serval Road is a product of his corrupt schemes and the house is on the list of properties to be recovered from him under the London High Court judgment. He bought this house using Zambian intelligence services money through his criminal accomplices, Cave Malik and Company. We challenge him to deny this!
Chiluba hopes that all the Zambians have got short memories and have not been following what has been happening in these matters. For him, everything is about dribbling, manipulation, conniving, intrigues, lies, deceit and cheap propaganda. And this is Rupiah’s bedfellow now. One wonders what this relationship is built on. But we have no doubt that it can only be built on one thing and one thing only: corruption, dishonesty and abuse.
We have not forgotten the well-documented accounts of Chiluba’s systematic theft of public funds from ZANACO and other public enterprises.
Chiluba’s chief of intelligence, Xavier Chungu, testified in the 2001 presidential election petition on how Chiluba asked him to raise money for the election through the intelligence. Xavier confessed that they raised money from government contracts and other sources. He also revealed in court that they used to collect money from ZANACO for all sorts of private reasons and the Ministry of Finance would be forced to pay it back on their behalf. Xavier and Chiluba were running a revolving theft fund at ZANACO. They steal, Ministry of Finance covers up their theft.
Samuel Musonda, the then managing director now convicted of abuse of office by Chinyama, told Chinyama that he used to deliver cash to Chiluba at State House. Chinyama convicted him for abuse saying Musonda, Chiluba and Xavier were involved in abusing public funds.
With all these thefts that Chiluba was involved in, what nonsense is this that he is now bringing up? What immunity is he asking for? Immunity to keep stolen property? The assistance Chiluba has gotten from Chinyama shouldn’t be stretched too far. At best, Chiluba should just use it to stay away from prison because trying to push his luck beyond that will backfire not only on himself but on his accomplices as well, those who are helping him to continue his abuse of the Zambian people, his enjoyment of stolen money. We just hope in their hearts of hearts, all who are part of this conspiracy can see the fallacy, the folly of their scheme. This matter will not end here. In Bemba they say umulandu taubola. One day, the full story of Chiluba’s acquittal and all the things he is trying to do now will be known to all our people. There are no permanent secrets in this world. That’s what Chiluba and his friends should know. All will soon be known and the price will be paid by all who are part of this conspiracy.
Chiluba is a very interesting man. As we have stated before, his shamelessness is something to marvel at. We cannot understand how a man who told the court in not so many words that he was receiving corrupt payments through Xavier can now claim to be clean, to be a man of God. What cleanliness is this? What type of god is he talking about? If Chiluba had any money which was legitimate, unlike the money Faustin and Aaron were convicted for, why did he have to hide it? Why did Chiluba turn his chief of intelligence into his chief cashier and paymaster? Anyone looking at this matter honestly would have to agree that what Chiluba and Xavier were involved in is laundering stolen money through an account they thought no one would ever look at.
But this is the man Chinyama has found to be innocent! How? Well, in the future these matters will be explained not by Chinyama, but will be explained. In the future, people will know who betrayed a public trust and abused public resources and offices. This will certainly happen. It may happen tomorrow, it may happen next week, it may happen next year. But it will certainly happen. Time is not of importance in this matter. What is important is that it will happen and those involved in this conspiracy should know that it will happen. We are 100 per cent sure of this and that’s why we are stating it with all the certainty and confidence in the world.
Rupiah has got the right to choose his friends. Friends, unlike one’s blood relatives, are freely chosen. And people only make friends with people they have something in common with; friends are not just chosen anyhow – they must always be a thread that binds one with his friends. It is also said that every creature prefers its own kind, and people are no different. Just as animals of the same species flock together, so do people keep company with those like themselves.
A sinner has no more in common with a devout person than a wolf has with a lamb. Truly, birds of the same feather flock together. The Bible also says can two walk together unless they are agreed? Rupiah is free to agree with Chiluba. He is free to be Chiluba’s friend. No one can choose friends for a 73-year-old man. But Rupiah should not be free to give away what does not belong to him to his friends.
Chiluba and his tandem of thieves stole. Let them surrender what belongs to the Zambian people to them – it is simply a question of giving to Caesar what belongs to Caesar, giving to the people what belongs to the people. Chiluba did not steal from Rupiah, did not take Rupiah’s personal money, he stole from the Zambian people, from public resources belonging to the poor Zambians. This being the case, a personal deal between Chiluba and Rupiah cannot decide matters over public funds and resources.
Chiluba was acquitted of having stolen US $500,000. He was not acquitted of having stolen from ZANACO. He was also not acquitted of using state funds to buy the Kabulonga house where he today lives. There are many assets today which were recovered from Chiluba and his associates. These need to be restored to the public. It is nonsense to cry for immunity so that he can keep the things that he has stolen. It will not be wise for Rupiah to connive with Chiluba and restore his immunity so that they keep that loot.
These are the realities, these are the facts and truths Chiluba does not want to face. Chiluba is not clean! Chiluba will never be clean! Chiluba is a thief!
Labels: CHILUBA, CORRUPTION, COURTS, JONAS CHINYAMA, LEGAL IMMUNITY, SAMUEL MUSONDA, XAVIER CHUNGU, ZANACO
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Thieves go in
Written by Editor
It is said that “when justice is done, good people are happy, but evil people are brought to despair” (Proverbs 21:15). The jailing of Samuel Musonda should be good news to all Zambians of goodwill. Musonda stole from them and has been made to return what he stole, and go to jail for two years.
And there is totally nothing political about this. Who can these thieves today accuse of being politically against them? Levy Mwanawasa, who they were accusing of being against them is not there today, but they are still being convicted. So who is against them? The courts?
Some people ruin themselves by their own stupid actions and then try to blame others. It is clear that Musonda stole – he is a thief. There is no doubt now that these crooks abused their authority and the institutions of the state they were privileged to run. In complicity with Frederick Chiluba and Xavier Chungu, Musonda abused public funds as if it was his personal money or that of Chiluba or Chungu.
And some foolish pastors can go on radio claiming Chiluba is not a thief, he is not corrupt. It is not right to favour crooked people, the guilty and keep the innocent from receiving justice.
It is said that the wicked bring on themselves the suffering they try to cause good people (Proverbs 21:18).
It’s true that the riches you get by dishonesty soon disappear, but not before they lead you into the jaws of death; “what you get by dishonesty you may enjoy like the finest food, but sooner or later, it will be like a mouthful of sand” (Proverbs 20:17).
Chiluba and his friends were advised against corruption. They were told that they won’t be able to get away with their abuse of public funds. At least we told them so at the height of their hold on power. We paid the price. We were harassed in all sorts of ways. They tried to wipe us out and humiliate us. We survived that and today we are witnessing their stupidity. If these were laughing matters, we would have the last laugh. But these are not laughing matters because they deal or affect the lives of so many of our people, especially the poor.
We hope our people, especially those in politics and in government and other public institutions, are learning something from all this. Arrogance should be punished so that people who don’t know anything better can learn a lesson. If you are wise, you will learn when you are corrected (Proverbs 19:25). It is said that sensible people see trouble coming and avoid it, but an unthinking person will walk right into it and regret it later. We say this because despite what is happening today in our country, in our courts, people in charge of public funds are still busy stealing.
They are not scared of what is happening to their friends today happening to them tomorrow. They actually don’t seem to think the bells tolling for people like Musonda for stealing public funds will tomorrow toll for them for doing the same thing. We are still seeing highly questionable transactions, deals or contracts involving billions of public funds.
It seems people are not scared. If they were, they wouldn’t be coming up with corrupt schemes like the public private partnership (PPP) which is nothing but a conduit for siphoning public funds into the pockets of those in government and their friends outside government.
They seem more protected today because they are sitting on evidence. If one accuses them of corruption, the first thing they say is ‘bring the evidence’, when they know very well that they are keeping it and it is not within the reach of their accusers.
But Chiluba, Chungu, Musonda and their other friends never thought anyone could get behind their deals conducted under the banner of the intelligence. Today they appear to be the most foolish government officials this country has ever seen. They are looking like sharks in a pond – totally exposed.
If public officers were capable of learning, fools like Lt Gen Christopher Singogo wouldn’t be in jail today. After seeing what was happening to his predecessor Lt Gen Sunday Kayumba, Singogo went ahead and started to do the same things Kayumba was arrested and was being prosecuted for. Today, Singogo is in prison and Kayumba may be joining him soon if the courts find him guilty. But we will not be surprised to hear that there are still some officers in the Zambia Air Force stealing public funds. These people don’t seem to be scared of the humiliation and the pain that goes with being convicted and sent to jail for stealing public funds.
Well, if you plant the seeds of dishonesty, injustice, disaster will spring up, and your crookedness will end.
These cases seem to have taken long. These crooks tried every trick in the book to prolong them, to buy time probably in the hope that something favourable would happen in the political arena and they would be absolved of their crimes. Probably they also hoped that if the cases were delayed, some witnesses may die, some evidence may disappear or something may happen to the prosecutor or the magistrate.
Truly, all these things can happen, but they will not stop the course of justice. It is said that the wheel of justice grinds very slowly but it finally arrives. And for Musonda, it has arrived. It is just a matter of time before it also arrives for his friends. And in this regard, we urge the Zambian people to exercise maximum patience and not be swayed by the propaganda being peddled by these same crooks they are prosecuting that things are going nowhere, the cases have taken too long and are bound to fail. This is cheap propaganda by these crooks. Some of them have greatly contributed to this delay and after that, they want to use it against the people.
This is cheap and it simply won’t do. Today they are accusing everybody, including the courts, of wrongdoing. Anyway, it’s understandable, crooked people hate anyone who is honest. Honest people will lead a full happy life. But if you are in a hurry to get rich by stealing public funds, one day you are going to be punished. Reliance on dishonest wealth will not help one much; it will do no one good on that day of disaster. If you do no wrong, no wrong will ever come to you. It is said that do not plough the ground to plant seeds of injustice; you may reap a bigger harvest than you expect. We are also advised: “Don’t commit any crime against the general public, and don’t disgrace yourself among your fellow citizens” (Sirach 7:7).
Nothing that comes from stealing, dishonesty or injustice will last. It is said that wealth that has been obtained dishonestly is like a stream that runs full during a thunderstorm, tumbling rocks along as it flows, but then suddenly goes dry. This is what Musonda and his crooked friends are starting to experience. At one time they appeared to be very clever and everyone was scared of them, the weak worshipped them. But what are they today? Big fools.
Labels: CORRUPTION, PPPs, SAMUEL MUSONDA
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Musonda goes in
Written by Laura Hamusute
Thursday, January 22, 2009 9:48:23 AM
FORMER Zambia National Commercial Bank (ZNCB) managing director Samuel Musonda yesterday went to jail for two years after losing his appeal in the High Court.
And Lusaka High Court Judge Tamula Kakusa threw out Musonda's appeal against his conviction, ruling that he abused his authority and benefited from the transactions in question.
This is in a case where Musonda appealed to the High Court against his conviction by the magistrate court on charges of abuse of authority of office.
In the magistrates' court, Ndola High Court Deputy Registrar Jones Chinyama sitting as principal resident magistrate at the time found Musonda guilty on 44 counts of abuse of authority of office involving about K10 billion.
He accordingly slapped on him a two-year concurrent sentence on all counts. Initially Musonda was charged with 50 counts, but the counts were reduced to 44 after he was acquitted on six counts.
Magistrate Chinyama established that Musonda abused his authority of office when he disbursed money from ZNCB's Suspense Debtors' Account, noting that Musonda ignored consulting the ZNCB board in disbursing the funds and that the house, number four Ingwe Road in Lusaka's Woodlands area which Musonda claimed to have bought was a benefit since it was paid for using money from the Office of the President.
Magistrate Chinyama ordered the forfeiture of Musonda's house, saying it was a benefit from the said questionable transactions.
In mitigation, Musonda through his lawyer Mumba Kapumpa said he was a first offender and a Christian who carried out some of the transactions in good faith.
Later, Musonda was granted bail by the Lusaka High Court after he appealed against his conviction.
Musonda, through Kapumpa, filed 21 grounds of appeal.
Kapumpa contended that the trial magistrate erred in law and in fact when he failed to differentiate between want of authority and abuse of authority in order to understand the ingredients of the offence Musonda was charged with.
He explained that from the records, it was not clear what Musonda was supposed to have done to commit the offence as the magistrate said he did not comply with routine procedure or simply that he initiated the transactions.
Kapumpa further explained that on the contrary, Office of the President (OOP) initiated the transactions.
He described as wrong and contradictory the statement that Musonda made the payments without authority, arguing that a person must have authority before he can abuse or misuse it.
Kapumpa also argued that the trial magistrate ignored Musonda's defence by overlooking the evidence that transactions were made for the greater good of the country.
He pointed out that the lendings were made on sovereign considerations, adding that there was no loss to the bank and that Musonda accrued no personal benefits from the transactions.
Kapumpa contended that corporate law provided that directors dance to the tune of the shareholders with no powers to change their wishes.
He argued in the grounds of appeal that the trial magistrate misdirected himself when he did not take into account the fact that no mens rea [guilty mind] was proved beyond reasonable doubt.
Kapumpa noted that the trial magistrate misdirected himself when he found as a fact that Musonda's house in Woodland's Ingwe Road was a benefit accrued from the transactions, contending that his client acquired the house on a legitimately sourced loan.
He further contended that the magistrate erred in law and fact when he found that Musonda had no power to transact in the way he did without considering that his performance contract gave him wide discretion and sufficient mandate to deal with sovereign requirement of ZNCB's majority shareholder, the government.
But prosecutions lawyer Mutembo Nchito in his submissions, argued that the case involved serious misapplication of government funds and it involved fugitive former Zambia Security Intelligence Services (ZSIS) director Xavier Chungu, former president Frederick Chiluba and Musonda himself.
Nchito contended that the use of government funds was not known and the trail ended with Musonda at ZNCB.
He added that Musonda gave no reasonable explanation as to what happened as people were moving government money in the boots of their cars all over Lusaka.
Nchito also argued that Musonda lent money in an unprocedural manner and although he had authority to lend it, abused it by exceeding the amount he was expected to lend.
He noted that Musonda's Ingwe Road house in Woodlands was a benefit accrued from the transactions, as he did not prove how he paid the loan.
In passing judgment, Judge Kakusa dismissed Musonda's first ground of appeal establishing that the trial magistrate took trouble to address his mind to the abuse of authority charge by having recourse to the dictionary and the evidence on record.
He ruled that Musonda was obliged to follow the ZNCB internal procedures in carrying out the said transactions.
Judge Kakusa established that Musonda had no authority from the Ministry of Finance and the ZNCB board of directors except his assertion that he operated under instructions from then director general of intelligence Xavier Chungu.
He also dismissed Musonda's explanation that he transacted the way he did in a bid to hide some of the transactions from the International Monetary Fund (IMF), saying had it been the case, the government would have found a better financial arrangement for addressing the same.
Judge Kakusa dismissed all of Musonda's grounds of appeal, concluding that the trial magistrate was on firm ground in arriving at the findings on record.
He said Musonda played a role in all the 44 counts [actus reas] and that he had addressed his mind to the nature of the transactions [mens reas].
Judge Kakusa pointed out that clause eight of Musonda's performance contract did not give him any special authority to transact the way he did, describing his conduct as unacceptable.
He observed that although the magistrate only jailed Musonda two years as a result of repaying the funds, repayment of funds was not a defence in criminal law but merely a mitigatory factor.
Judge Kakusa threw out Musonda's appeal, contending that what he did was fraudulent, irregular and he benefited from the transactions in question.
He said in the event that Musonda appealed to the Supreme Court, he had to show extra effort that he bought his house from his own resources.
After judgment was delivered, Musonda's lawyer Kapumpa indicated that he was going to appeal to the Supreme Court against the judgment.
Commenting on the judgment, Task Force on Corruption public relations officer Victor Makai, who attended court, expressed happiness, saying Judge Kakusa had done a thorough job.
Labels: SAMUEL MUSONDA, TAMULA KAKUSA, ZNCB
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Court sets Jan 21 for jugdment in Musonda's case
By Laura Mushaukwa
Thursday October 09, 2008 [04:00]
LUSAKA High Court judge Tamula Kakusa has set January 21, 2009 as the date of judgment in the case of incarcerated former Zambia National Commercial Bank (ZNCB) managing director Samuel Musonda. This is in a case where Musonda appealed to the high court against his conviction by the magistrate court on charges of abuse of authority of office.
Musonda, through his lawyer Mumba Kapumpa, filed 21 grounds of appeal arguing on the first ground that the trial magistrate erred in law and in fact when he failed to differentiate between want of authority and abuse of authority in order to understand the ingredients of the offence Musonda was charged with.
Kapumpa also argued that the trial magistrate overlooked Musonda’s defence and the issue of mens rea was not proved beyond reasonable doubt.
But Task Force prosecutions lawyer Mutembo Nchito contended that the trial magistrate did not err in law and in fact when he convicted Musonda on all counts and the case involved serious misapplication of government funds.
Labels: COURTS, SAMUEL MUSONDA, TAMULA KAKUSA
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