MUFUMBWE member of Parliament (MP) Steven Masumba says he feels sad and sorry for his mother following the Lusaka High Court’s decision to uphold a one-year jail sentence slapped on him by the Lusaka Magistrate’s Court.
Speaking to journalists in Lusaka shortly before he was ferried to prison, Masumba said High Court judge Chalwe Mchenga’s decision has left his family, especially his mother, in shock.
“It has an impact on my family and more importantly to my mother. I think she is in shock right now as I speak. But I have put all this in the hands of God and I know at the right time God is going to redeem me from this situation,” he said.
Masumba said he feels sorry for the people of Mufumbwe, who voted for him because the jail sentence imposed on him will have a negative impact on his parliamentary duties
“I would not wish to say much but obviously my personal decision is that I feel, morally, the issue of being MP there (Mufumbwe) needs to be consulted very well or else I do not feel like continuing,” he said.
Masumba said Mr Justice Mchenga’s decision to send him to prison is the will of God and there is nothing he can do about it but wait for God to redeem him.
The Lusaka High Court has upheld a one-year jail sentence slapped on Masumba by the Lusaka Magistrate’s Court for possession of a fraudulently obtained accounting diploma.
Masumba is alleged to have falsely obtained a technician accounting diploma from the National Institute of Public Administration (NIPA).
Masumba is alleged to have falsely obtained a technician accounting diploma from the National Institute of Public Administration (NIPA).
Masumba submitted in his grounds of appeal that Mr Muma erred in law and fact when he found that he falsely pretended to have a diploma, obtained pecuniary advantage and failed to report an error on his qualification.
But High Court judge Chalwe Mchenga said in a judgment delivered in Lusaka yesterday that Mr Muma was on firm grounds when he convicted and jailed Masumba to 12 months imprisonment because the prosecution had proved the case beyond reasonable doubt.
“The appellant [Masumba]should in fact consider himself to be lucky in the sense of the adverse observation against him, he still ended up with a sentence of 12 months imprisonment.
“The sentence does not come to me with any sense of shock. Consequently, the appeal against conviction and sentence is dismissed Tthe appellant’s conviction for obtaining pecuniary advantage by false pretences and the sentence of 12 months is upheld. Leave to appeal is granted,” Mr Justice Mchenga said.
He dismissed Masumba’s grounds of appeal because there was no miscarriage of justice in refusing to admit into evidence Masumba’s 2003 examination result transcript.
Mr Justice Mchenga said the prosecution evidence was not contradictory and that he was not prosecuted for failing to report that he was erroneously listed for graduation.
He said the prosecution’s evidence is complementary and not contradictory, contrary to Masumba’s submissions.
Mr Justice Mchenga said the sum total of the prosecution witness’s evidence is that Masumba graduated and received an accounting technician diploma signed by a NIPA official when he knew he failed one course.
He said Mr Muma’s findings cannot be faulted because Masumba falsely pretended when he presented himself and obtained employment at Lusaka Business and Technical College as a person who had graduated after completing a course.
“I find that the prosecution evidence proved that the appellant made a false pretence before being employed. The appellant was not employed because he had a diploma certificate signed by a NIPA official but because he presented himself as having a diploma certificate after attending NIPA and passing the accounts technician course,” he said.
Mr Justice Mchenga said Mr Muma found Masumba to have acted dishonestly when he obtained employment using a false document.
“Having found that the records at NIPA were authentic, it is inconceivable that the appellant had failed one course and absconded another and, therefore, not completed the course and not qualified as an accountant,” he said.
Mr Justice Mchenga said Masumba was employed on the basis of the irregularly obtained diploma and was allowed to work as well as earn money.
Masumba’s lawyer Mutakela Lisimba said he will appeal against the High Court’s judgment.
Particulars of the offence are that Masumba obtained employment for himself as an accounting clerk at Lusaka Business and Technical College by falsely pretending that he held a qualification of accounting technician when in fact he did not.
The offence is alleged to have been committed between December 1, 2005 and August 25, 2008 in Lusaka.
Blame yourself.
Most importantly I feel so sorry for you, you oxygen thief
Thanks
Honestly Masumba has not done much worse than anyone of us. The way we write Resumes/ CVs sometimes is beyond God’s judgement.
I didn’t steal but somehow wrote a CV which is way too better than I have achieved before. And I ended up as a such an asset in the institution. And I do help people prepare resumes/CVs, and how to close eyes in interviews like Chiluba.
To Bana Masumba, please Mayo, bear with your son, that how a man should survive on earth. Ululumbi lwa mulanda ku kakata.
kwena ba mushota mula ponta, umuntu kuti aikulika. kikikikiki
Happy Birthday to You
You live in a zoo
You look like a monkey
And you smell like one too.
And thats why the country goes backward because people like Dumass think it’s alright to lie and forge. There’s a big difference between pepping up your CV and lying about qualifications. If you didn’t pass then you didn’t pass. Chapwa…
Ba LOL naimwe!!! There is nothing like ‘Pepping up’ your CV – its in the same lines as laying. Pepping for what? Simply layout only what you have achieved chapwa!!
Ask her to go back to Mufumbwe ,what is she doing in town? was she born in Lusaka ?
You Oxygen thief LOLEST.
Luapula Bize….I work for a multinational company as an environmental officer. My job is a cleaner for DHL. …as opposed to….I am a qualified environmental officer who cleans……one is pepping it up, the other is a fabrication. Get it?
Mushota got 23 points and 683 marks in grade 7. She is still praising herself for this achievement. Some of us got 800 marks,some more, others 6 points, they don’t bost. “Pride comes before a fall”
Is Mushota intelligent or strungling ?
Masumba is lucky because he is a prominent PF cadre. Otherwise, he would have been serving that sentence up to now like poor Liato who served part of the jail term only to acquitted later and paid all his money.
PF is corrupt and its a party for corrupt people. Starting with Sata himself , he is the most corrupt leader Zambia will ever have. Chiluba was corrupt because of Sata’s influence.
Opposition MPs’ seats were nullified under the pretext of corruption without criminal conviction and yet Masumba, Mwewa, and the other two who bought a second hand vehicle ,are still holding on to their parley seats despite being found wanting. Only f00lish PF cadres do not consider this selective justice by the PF regime .
If you want to be corrupt with impunity join PF and stay there.
Oyu muntu mufubafuba how can you forge a certificate of all things stupid young man…studing is the only thing which can help you pass & not dancing viva upnd viva HH.
The question is: how many Masumbas (those who have forged academic certificates) do we have in both the public and private sectors? How do we identify these and rid ourselves of workers possessing and earning salaries using forged qualifications? Masumba’s case attracted attention because he is a politician, but it shows a deeper problem that we ought to address before we have a nation of ‘educated’ iliterates.
Masumba , I feel sorry for your mother for giving birth to a kuluku. The womb is like a lottery machine. I hope your siblings are better beings.
His twin brother is next… Look out for graduation ceremonies near you.
“Masumba’s lawyer Mutakela Lisimba said he will appeal against the High Court’s judgment”………………Appeal against what naye lawyer uyu! Let that crook do his time inside,just how has he managed to hold on to that seat in the so called “honorable” house this long when free accomadation is waiting for him in Chimbokaila?
Do the crime do the time
Lets see you do those hand-stands in prison you little twerp.
You were sentenced last last year in November. You have virtually served the jail term outside appealing. Infact you have already served your entire term considering that weekends and holidays are not considered in jail
If he will be discharged at Independence day will he stand to continue serving as an MP?
I believe if there will be by-election in Mufufmbwe, I beleive this time PF will not be as they did in Zambezi West.
Masumba’s family are bitter and I trust the chief equally are grieved.
Any way, Masumba knew his case was hot when he won the seat under MMD, but after realizing that MMD will push him no longer, he switched cleverly to PF with a promise to clear him by the president but now things have U-turned.
The punishment is too much, here in SA one of the senior GOVT officials stepped down after being exposed of having fake qualifications, BA, Masters and a PhD (Pallo Jordan) and has not been prosucuted and no one talks about him being prosecuted, think we overdo things in ZED
Are you suggesting that we should only do as South Africans do? Did you really listen to the song, Mr ‘Redemption Song’, as you call yourself? I doubt it, because if you did, you would have no doubt heard these iconic words: “emancipate yourselves from mental slavery;none but ourselves can free our minds”! Bob had people like you in mind.
Iwe @Redemption song do not be selective – how about the SABC fo.ol who is still being shielded by your so-called “…as South Africans do.” Osanama ma boza pano we can now all access internet and read the news! Alase!
this is not sa.u reap what u byala ka.he deserves it after depriving qualified people employment.my people in zambia are working using fake results/certificates.i know one classmate after being fired by mopani for faking results is now working for bell.eiz is useless because these people even get there way into positions by cheating abourt others.shame
I also feel sorry for your mum. Mothers wishes are to see our children prosper…. but so is life for mother.
“…But I have put all this in the hands of God and I know at the right time God is going to redeem me from this situation,” he said
God is always being put on the spot for nothing! Unali weka – in fact He has already redeemed you in advance but only after 12 months! Ngena Iwe uzakamba kusogolo…
What’s the hotline in Zambia for reporting people working with fake qualifications. More Masumbas to be reported. Zambia has a lot of them and the punishment shouldn’t end with Masumba only.
You are right @zebra; Masumba just got the chequered flag – there are others dashing about that must also be led to the finish line. In fact the repeat offenders will not even have it easier; it will 12+ months…
Please what is the hotline number for reporting people with fake qualification? I know of two people holding very senior positions in government who have extremely fake papers.