COURT THROWS OUT APPLICATION IN GBM CORRUPTION CASE

THE Lusaka Magistrate Court has again thrown out applications made by former Defence Minister, Geoffrey Bwalya Mwamba to admit documents as part of his defence in a matter he is charged with 24 counts of failure to declare interest and being in possession of property suspected to be proceeds of crime.

Earlier, the court had refused to allow Mwamba to submit a letter which was written by the former Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) Ms. Lilian Siyunyi ordering the seizure of investigations against him.

When the matter came up for continued defence yesterday, outgoing Senior Resident Magistrate Sanford Ngobola sitting under the Economic and Financial Crimes Court again dismissed Mwamba's application to tender into evidence DD22, a letter Mwamba wrote to the Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) to request to know the status of his investigations.

The court also dismissed to tender into evidence DD23, a write up from within ACC advising on the outcome of the investigations and was given to him by one ACC officer.

Mr Ngobola also refused to tender in a letter named DD24 Mwamba said he declared interest in writing on October 5, 2011 and was given to then Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Defence which he stamped.

Mwamba said when the matter was being investigated, he wrote a copy as a declaration of interest and gave it to an ACC officer, of which it went to then DPP.

However, the prosecution comprising Mr. Daniel Ngwira and Ms. Virginia Tembo objected to the submission of the documents stating that there was no proper foundation laid and does not show proper chain of custody.

The state argued that there was no proof that the documents came from proper channels.

And Mwamba's lawyer, Mr Kelvin Bwalya Fube said the accused informed the court how the letter came to him, whether it was legal or illegal that was not the ground to object a document because he explained who gave him.

"The matter in which the state collects evidence and the manner in which the accused collects are two different things," Mr. Fube submitted.