Going to Court Feels Like Going to Church – Rupiah FORMER president Rupiah Banda says he has gotten used to appearing in courts and that the procedure feels like going to church. And MMD national secretary Chembe Nyangu and women chairlady Faustina Sinyangwe took turns haranguing Post journalist Joseph Mwenda after he asked Banda for a comment on the divisions in the former ruling party. Meanwhile, Banda wants Lusaka principal resident magistrate Obbister Musukwa to refer the case where he is charged with corrupt practices by public servant and concealing gratification to the High Court for a review of Director of Public Prosecutions Mutembo Nchito’s lead prosecutor role in the matter. After his case was adjourned, Banda walked out of the Lusaka Magistrates’ Court greeting people along the corridors and stopped when he saw former Zambia Daily mail deputy managing director Davis Mataka and Ng’ande Mwananjiti. “You are also here?” Banda remarked. “You are hitting newspaper headlines together with your father now. This is now our church. We are so used, every day,” he said as Mwananjiti responded with a hug. Banda also greeted former Solicitor General Sunday Nkonde and briefly conversed with Bowman Lusambo where he conveyed his condolences on the recent passing of the MMD die-hard youth leader’s mother. When he exited the court complex, Banda realised that a number of MMD members, including those who did not regularly accompany him to court, were following him. He stopped and looked back as if to address them but without saying much, thanked them for their support, prompting them to wave the MMD symbol at him. At this moment Banda shouted back: “Chweeee! Chweeee! Chweeee! Mwati chikafwe ichi chinthu, chi chweela (will this MMD slogan die?”) he asked the supporters who responded in the negative. Before getting into his vehicle, Mwenda asked Banda to comment on the divisions in the MMD. “Your Excellency, what is your advice to the MMD over their differences?” he aksed. Banda responded that he was not interested in discussing the matters affecting the party. “No. My advice is restricted to court. This is my church, this is where I am,” he said adding, “Tamuthabani lomba. Naluta ku farm kuyolima mbatata (I will leave you now. I am going to cultivate potatoes at the farm).” After Banda left, Nyangu turned to Mwenda and questioned his motive in interviewing the former president. “What is your interest? Why did you have to ask him that question? I am the chief executive of the party and you must ask me. He (Banda) is a retired man, don’t ask him anything,” Nyangu said walking towards Mwenda. “I am here, interview me. What did you want to know from him?” But Mwenda responded that as a journalist, he decides who to interview. “Yes sir, I can interview you but I can also decide who to interview. He (Banda) is the former president of MMD and I am at liberty to ask him for a comment on matters affecting the party,” Mwenda said. On hearing this, Sinyangwe chipped in and launched a verbal attack on the reporter. “When we were growing up, we were taught to have respect for elders. Where did you grow up from? Didn’t your mother teach you how to talk to elders? You must be ashamed; you don’t answer back when elders are talking,” said Sinyangwe. When Post journalist Agness Katongo reminded Nyangu that there was nothing wrong with Mwenda directing the question at Banda, a woman who was in the company of Sinyangwe and another took over the argument and admonished Katongo. “You are still a young lady and do not allow yourself to be used. You get your salary by writing those stories,” she said as Katongo ignored their tantrums. Lusambo intervened to prevent the argument from escalating. Earlier, when Banda’s matter came up for commencement of trial, the prosecution led by Nchito and Banda’s lawyers went into the chambers. Upon emerging from the chambers where they spent over 40 minutes, Nchito said the defence had made a request for a constitutional reference of the case to the High Court. According to the defence’s notice to raise preliminary issues, Banda’s desire is to have the matter moved to the High Court at the next trial date. Banda wants the High Court to determine whether he should be prosecuted by Nchito who, according to him, was not impartial in the matter and whether the prosecution should be conducting investigations when they had already started prosecuting the matter. Banda further wondered whether Nchito, who had informed the Parliamentary Select Committee that he would not personally prosecute matters involving the former president owing to personal conflict, should be allowed to handle the case. Banda also wanted to know whether the proceedings should not be stayed as an abuse of the process. “…the accused (Banda) person will aver that the questions for constitutional reference are neither frivolous nor vexatious and rely upon grounds and for the reasons appearing in the affidavit of Rupiah Bwezani Banda sworn and filed herein. And further the accused will be making reference to the guidelines on the role of the prosecutors passed and adopted at the Eighth United Nations Congress on the Prevention of Crime and the Treatment of the Offenders as encoded in the UN document,” Banda said. The State is scheduled to respond to Banda’s application on April 11 and magistrate Musukwa is expected to hand down a ruling on April 25. The allegation is that Banda between January 2011 and August 30, 2011 corruptly received 10 motor vehicles from Sogecao Zambia Limited and Sogecao Construction and Engineering as an inducement or reward for himself in return for his favourable treatment in the two companies’ dealings with the government. Banda is further accused of concealing gratification involving nine light trucks and allegations are that between January 30 and August 2011, he received nine motor vehicles all valued at K471,000. This is alleged to have been obtained as gratification from Sogecao Zambia, a subsidiary of Anui Foreign Economic Construction Company, a company contracted to construct the Levy Mwanawasa Stadium in Ndola. Banda is accused of concealing the receipt of the motor vehicles by having them registered in the names of other people closely connected to him
Posted on: Fri, 21 Mar 2014 06:02:34 +0000
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