ACC ACTED INCOMPETENTLY, SAYS KAMPYONGO

FORMER Minister of Home Affairs, Steven Kampyongo has told the Lusaka Magistrate Court that the Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) did not thoroughly investigate his matter on grounds that they failed to bring a witness to talk about the salaries he got from his job.

Kampyongo in his defence yesterday said an ACC investigation officer, Thandiwe Banda gave wrong figures of what he earned from 2011 to 2021.

He said the state only brought a witness to testify about the earnings he got as a parliamentarian and forgot about his salaries.

Kampyongo said he earned about K18 million unlike what the state purported before the court.

In this matter, Kampyongo, aged 50, of House No. 31, Kudu Road. Kabulonga in Lusaka is charged with his wife Wanziya Chirwa, aged 42, a civil servant working as a Chief Planner at the Ministry of Youth, Sport and Arts are facing 11 counts of being in possession of properties suspected to be proceeds of crime contrary to section 71 (i) of the Forfeiture of Proceeds of Crime Act No. 19 of 2010.

The two pleaded not guilty to possession of property worth over K29 million suspected to be proceeds of crime.

Kampyongo told magistrate Sylvia Munyinya that the documents that was submitted by an investigations officer before the court concerning the salaries he earned was not a true reflection of what he earned in terms of salaries because it omits what he earned from 2012 to 2021.

“The State didn’t take account on what I was getting as salary, they only concentrated on what I was getting as a parliamentarian. Between the period 2011 to 2021, I earned a total of K9.65 million gross pay and net pay was K6.85 million. These are salaries I earned from my portfolio functions which I informed the court about. During the same period, I gained K4.25 million as gratuity.

He also testified that he never spent anything above his legitimate earnings as alleged by the State..

Defence continues today.