Deposits in Kambwili’s accounts revealed
DETAILS of huge amounts of cash being deposited into Roan law maker, Chishimba Kambwili’s account through different branches while he was serving as Cabinet minister, were yesterday disclosed in court. This is in a case where Kambwili, his son Mwamba, Zambia Revenue Authority (ZRA) senior inspector Brano Musonda Lukwesa, revenue officer Mulenga Makasa Kapilima, and Mwamona Engineering Technical Services have been charged for allegedly making a false document, uttering a false document, obtaining pecuniary advantage, and 34 counts of being in possession of over K5, 000,000 suspected to be proceeds of crime. The deposits presented to the court yesterday were all made between the period 2014 and 2015 during which Kambwili was serving as a cabinet minister. Kambwili was a cabinet minister from 2011 to 2014 during which he served at Foreign Affairs, Labour, Sport and Youth and Information and Broadcasting Services in late President Michael Sata’s government. In 2015 he was appointed Information and Broadcasting Services minister and reappointed to the same ministerial position in 2016 by President Edgar Lungu, and held the position until he was fired the same year. According to a bank statement produced by a state witness yesterday, K60, 000 was deposited in Kambwili’s personal account on May 5, 2014 and K90, 000 was deposited on June 14, 2014 in the same account. Serah Mtonga, an operations officer at Zambia National Commercial Bank,told the court that, “There was another deposit of K100, 000 on June 23, 2014 at Luanshya branch. Another deposit of K180, 000 on July 4, 2014 at Acacia Park branch, another deposit of K99, 000 on August 5, 2014 at Luanshya branch, another deposit of K50,000 on August 29, 2014 at Luanshya branch. “There was another deposit of K100, 000 on September 15, 2014 at Government Complex branch, another deposit of K155, 000 on November 1, 2014 at Woodlands branch, another deposit of K179, 300 on November 28, 2014 at Luanshya branch, K50, 000 deposit on November 28, 2014 at Jacaranda branch, and K140, 000 deposit on December 3, 2014 at Government Complex branch,” Ms. Mtonga said. She added that on January 8, 2015, there was another deposit of K100, 000 at Luanshya branch, K40, 000 deposit on January 14, 2015 at Woodlands branch, and K95, 000 deposit on February 13, 2015. The witness however told the Lusaka Magistrate Court that she does not know if Roan member of Parliament Chishimba Kambwili is a high profile businessman. Mtonga, an operations officer at Zambia National Commercial Bank, said it was beyond her to tell whether there was something suspicious in the money that was being deposited in Kambwili’s personal account. “It is beyond me to point at anything suspicious on the transactions. I am not in a position to answer that because the transactions were done at different branches. I am based at Northmead branch and none of the transactions were done at Northmead branch,” Ms. Mtonga said in cross examination by defence lawyer Keith Mweemba. In further cross examination by another defence lawyer Gilbert Phiri, Ms. Mtonga said she does not know the business Kambwili is involved in. “I don’t know how long he has been involved, I don’t know that he is involved in international business,” she said. Kambwili and his company also allegedly obtained pecuniary advantage of US$105,220 from China Henan by purporting that Mwamona, a company which was subcontracted, was executing works on LuwinguMansa Road when in fact not. Trial continues on September 3, 2018.