KAMBWILI BRIBERY EXPOSED

...attempt to induce magistrate backfires

HIGH Court Registrar David Simusamba has revealed that former Roan member of Parliament Chishimba Kambwili attempted to bribe him with money and a car for him to deliver judgment in his favour.

This is in a case where Mr. Simusamba, who sits as Principal Resident Magistrate, has found Kambwili with a case to answer over alleged forgery, uttering a false document, and giving false information to a public officer at the Patents and Companies Registration Agency (PACRA) relating to Mwamona Engineering Technical Services.

Kambwili’s alleged attempts to bribe Mr. Simusamba have come to light after the Lusaka Magistrates’ Court on Wednesday this week refused to admit his complaint against Mr. Simusamba over alleged libel and attempts to extort K360, 000 from him.

In the first count of the complaint Kambwili filed on February 21, 2020, he alleged that between December 1, 2019 and January 31, 2020 Mr. Simusamba defamed him when he wrote to Chief Justice

Ireen Mambilima that since inception of the forgery case in January 2018, the accused person has relentlessly attempted to bribe the court with sums of money.

Mr. Simusamba told Justice Mambilima that Kambwili had offered to buy him a car at the time he did not have one in the first quarter of 2018 when the case just began.

He was responding to the Chief Justice over Kambwili’s earlier complaint to her that Mr. Simusamba’s conduct was allegedly of criminal nature.

In the second count Kambwili alleged that between April 1, 2018 and December 31, 2019 Mr. Simusamba attempted to extort a total of K360, 000 from him and threatened to convict him.

But in his ruling dated March 4, 2020, Lusaka Chief Resident Magistrate Lameck

Mwale said: “It is the firm view of this court that the complaint or formal charge lodged herein does not disclose an offence and in line with Section 90 (6) of the CPC (Criminal Procedure Code), I hereby refuse to admit it.”

Mr. Mwale said the place of occurrence or commission of the alleged offence is indispensably critical in determining whether or not a particular subordinate court has jurisdiction to admit a complaint which does not disclose the place where the offence was allegedly committed, let alone adjudicate upon it.

He said a careful perusal of the particulars of offence in count one of the formal charge filed by Kambwili did not disclose the place or territory where the offence is alleged to have been committed from.

“Therefore, it is difficult, if not impossible, for this court to determine whether or not it is clothed with the requisite jurisdiction to adjudicate on this matter in as far as it relates to count one,” Mr. Mwale said. On the second count of attempts at extortion, he said the offence falls under the class of offences for trial by the High Court and consequently no subordinate court has jurisdiction to admit a complaint in respect of such an offence.

Kambwili’s alleged attempts to bribe Mr. Simusamba have come to light after the Lusaka Magistrates’ Court on Wednesday this week refused to admit his complaint against Mr. Simusamba over alleged libel and attempts to extort K360, 000 from him.