MAKEBI WARNS OPPOSITION
Presidential aspirants will suffer greater disadvantage under the current law
Will affect the opposition leaders who will want to contest for the presidency in [Page 2021 4] if not amended.
NDC leader Chishimba Kambwili yesterday burst into rage and verbally abused Chief State Advocate Margaret Chitundu for objecting to defence lawyer’s application for an adjournment.
Kambwili is before the Lusaka Magistrate’s court facing three counts of forgery, uttering a false document and giving false information to a public officer.
Earlier, he gave unsworn evidence which meant that the prosecutors could not cross examine him.
Kambwli’s wife Carol was also at pains to explain to the court how her son became a director in Mwamona Engineering when he was only eight years old at the time of incorporating the company in 2001.
The matter came for continued defence before Magistrate David Simusamba. Defence lawyer, Musa Mwenye, applied for an adjournment to next week because the witness, Ms Kambwili was not available due to work commitment in the United Kingdom where she works as a staff nurse.
“Your honour, we seek for any adjournment because the witness who is supposed to be on the stand is not available today due to work commitment because she is required to work for extended hours due to Covid-19 outbreak in the UK,” Mr Mwenye said.
As Ms Chitundu stood to object the application, Kambwili rose up in protest prompting Mr Simusamba to direct the defence lawyers to counsel their client.
“Defence lawyers, counsel your client before I cite him for contempt of court. This is not the first time he is conducting himself in a dishonourable manner,” the Magistrate said before adjourning the matter to Friday next week.
The Chief State Advocate stated that it was unfair for the defence to indicate to court that the state had six months to prosecute the matter when all the past adjournments were initiated by the defence.
The state proposed that Ms Kambwili stand down until she was available and that the defence should to call the next witness so that the case could proceed.
After the Magistrate adjourned the matter and left the court room, Mr Kambwili and his supporters unleashed abuse on Ms Chitundu who kept calm and did not respond.
“Aka akamuntu kalitumpa sana. Nalishiba balekubomfya (This person is very stupid and is being used. But very soon you are going to see..... it was not my fault that I did not attend court but I was sick,” said Mr Kambwili as his lawyers tried to restrain him.
His supporters who were inside and outside the court room also joined in and issued some unprintables on Ms Chitundu as she sat in shock.
In the matter, it is alleged that on October 29, 2013, Kambwili forged a PACRA “no change return form” purporting to show that it was genuinely signed by his son Mwamba when in fact not.
It is further alleged that on the same date, Kambwili fraudulently uttered the same document to an officer at PACRA.