ZICTA CYBER SECURITY SPECIALIST TESTIFIES IN AMOS CHANDA CASE
A CYBER security specialist at Zambia Information and Communications Technology Authority (ZICTA) has testified in court that the report he conducted did not show who destroyed the evidence in a case former President Edgar Lungu's press aid, Amos Chanda is charged with theft and destroying of evidence.
Mr. Jeff Sitali, 28, when asked in cross examination by one of the defence lawyers Mr. Agrippa Malando said the report he conducted did not show a person who destroyed the evidence and it only contains the recording extracted from a recorded vice.
When asked if Mr. Sitali was lying to the court when he said the audio was recorded on September 30, 2022 at 02:55am when an Investigations officer who testified earlier told the court he recorded it at 22hrs? He said it was according to his findings.
It is alleged that Chanda on September 30, 2022 was heard having a conversation with Intelligent Mobility Solutions board chairman Walid El Nahas and former Road Transport and Safety Agency (RTSA) Chief Executive Officer, Zindaba Soko that he got the court record containing proceedings relating to a case where nolle prosequi was entered in their favour and destroyed it by burning it.
The record that was allegedly burnt was in connection with a case in which he was the third accused person in a matter he was jointly charged with Mr El Nahas and Mr Soko but the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) on May 12, 2020 entered a nolle prosequi and the three were discharged of the offence.
In this matter, Chanda pleaded not guilty to one count of theft contrary to Section 272 of the Penal Code Chapter 87 of the Laws of Zambia and one count of destroying evidence contrary to Section 111 of the Penal Code Chapter 87 of the Laws of Zambia. Mr. Sitali narrated that he extracted four recordings and a report from the recording device and attached it to final report which was before the court.
He said he extracted the audio on September 30, 2022 after a request by officers from the Drug Enforcement
Commission (DEC).
"I received a request on January 6, 2023 by DEC, in relation to extraction of information in a matter involving distraction of evidence, to extract audio made on September 30, 2022 on a recorded device. Through that device I created an image of a Sony record after the retraction I analysed the image using a software tool called universal forensic extraction device UFED physical analyser.”
I proceeded to check for the audio recording produced on 30 September and I extracted four recording and a report which I attached to my finals report and copied the audio files to the CV label Zicta," he submitted.