FORMER Health deputy minister Solomon Musonda said yesterday that he feared for his life when a group of suspected Patriotic Front (PF) members blocked a road with branches and threatened to kill him.
And Kabwe High Court Judge Mugeni Mulenga has set May 31 as judgment date in the case in which Musonda, aged 34, was found with a case to answer for causing bodily harm with intent to maim, disfigure or disable a PF cadre, Jackson Musaka on June 1 last year in Serenje District.
Musonda, who is Chitambo member of Parliament (MP), told the court in his defence that he panicked at the time of the shooting because the atmosphere was tense.
“My lady, I feared for my life when a group of suspected PF cadres blocked the road with branches. I was in panic because of the atmosphere which was tense and some things which were happening. I was driven by extreme fear at the time of the shooting incident,” he said.
He, however, said he was not sure which bullet shot and injured Musaka that day and he had nothing against the victim.
“Up to now I don’t know how Musaka was shot and injured because I did not shoot him. Everyone has attributed that it might be my gun but what if someone had a gun because at the time it was dark,’’ he said.
He said while he agreed to having fired two gun shots, he wondered why the court was told that only one cartridge was picked from the scene and wondered what happened to the other one.
Musonda during cross-examination by State prosecutor Benson Mpalo told the court that on the fateful day he had travelled to Serenje to hold meetings over various development programmes.
He said he got a licence for the firearm for the purpose of protection and he did not notify the police over his meetings that were to be held in a classroom as they were not political.
He disputed the evidence given to the court by the ballistic expert that the empty cartridge found at the scene of incident was discharged from his firearm.
The court further set April 13, 2011 as day for the defence lawyers led by State Counsel Sunday Nkonde to submit their defence to the court.
Meanwhile, the Ndola High Court yesterday ruled that the case in which Finance Bank Zambia Limited shareholders had sued the Bank of Zambia be stayed pending an appeal to the Supreme Court by the shareholders over preliminary issues raised before the court.
Judge Munalula Lisimba made the ruling after lawyers for the shareholders, Stephen Malama of Jacques and Partners and John Sangwa told the court that they wanted to appeal the court’s decision.
The shareholders who have sued the Bank of Zambia as first respondent and First Rand Limited as second respondent are Finsbury Investment Limited, Clarkwell Limited, Job Albert Samuel, Chewe Puta, an administrator of the estates of Pat Puta, and Patrick Chamunda.
The attorney general is appearing as an intervener in the case.
The shareholders have sued the Bank of Zambia and First Rand Limited to prevent them from interfering with or dealing in any manner with their shares in Finance Bank Zambia Limited and to stop the respondents from selling the bank, whether as a going concern or its assets.
Attorney General Abyudi Shonga made an observation as a matter of providing for a smooth trial of the case that First Rand Limited had been conspicuously absent from the proceedings in court.
But the shareholders’ lawyers replied that First Rand Limited was free to make its own representation before the court.
The court ruled that the petitioners either serve First Rand Limited with the proceedings or have it removed on grounds of being wrongly joined to the proceedings.
But the lawyers for the shareholders applied for leave to appeal to the Supreme Court to determine whether the lower court had the jurisdiction to give the shareholders such options.
Hearing of the matter was stayed pending the appeal to the Supreme Court.
[ Times of Zambia ]
Stupiiiiiiiiiiit idioooot! how can you say you shot twice and yet deny that you shot the poor guy……. you are guilt no amount of money will save you from God’s wrath.
bushe uyu shinganga, is he genuinely that young or its been a mis quoting of the correct number of years pantu face yakwe mambala taimoneka 30 chakuti yapa ma 40 na abavu
@Zero Optiopn ..naine nacidabwa ati 34 maybe ba LT nabo balizinkimana……….
political violence
he disputed the evidence of the ballistics expert! so he really knows which bullet hit his target eh! mwana, you shot twice, no other gun shot was heard and even if by coincidence another one fired the shot, two guns respond differently when it comes to recoil. the grooves generated by a bullet in the barrel is more of a fingerprint for ballistic studies so bwana just ask for leniency as shooting in the head is not intended to maim but kill. thanks to the lord the guy is alive.
Do we really have ex0perts in the zambia police who are that good? I say so because I can teach them one or two things!
Under the above circumstances, I would have shot at the PF bagggers aswell.
You say that Sata and PF are violent so if MMD are peaceful why did this so called doctor shot an innocent person? No 1 agree with you instead of this heartless man repenting and pleading for forgiveness he wants to had salt to injury with his silly justification
This Musonda is only 34 but looks 50.
Anyway, his argument is not smart enough. How does he say he shot the unarmed boy because he feared for his life? The boy was unarmed and did not attack him, and Musonda was armed, how could his life be threatened? In a serious and independent judicial ssystem this guy Musonda would have gone in for attempted murder.
No.2 & 3, this guy is 34 years old, he is still a member of the Round Table, if he was above 40 years he could have left the club. it is just because of the ploblems he has found in thats why he is now looking that old.
“My lady, I feared for my life when a group of suspected PF cadres blocked the road with branches. I was in panic because of the atmosphere which was tense and some things which were happening. I was driven by extreme fear at the time of the shooting incident,” he said.
My lady …is this how MMD leaders address judges…educate me pipo
From the on going it appears Dr. Musonda shot in self defence. Why did the PF cadres block the road with tree branches in the dark. Even sane person when faced with an attack can resort to any means possible for self defence.
iwe musonda thats why ballistic experts are there to prove whether the bullet came from your gun or not.
10 Shimaini- You can be TABLER after 40 only that you wil be what we a forty oner. May be Musonda was brought up in the Village and started school at 14 years so he had adjust his age to the level of a grade 1
******* says:
My Lady is how you address a Supreme Court Justice who is a woman the same way we say My Lord. It has nothing to do with MMD as a party mambala iwe
Musonda should use the ‘blocking the road’ bit, not this nonse of i dont know sho sho him and yet there ws only one gun. Again he should have shot while in the car not going out to shot, if he was really in ‘fear’……..ok, lets not be prejuducial, forget my comments.
To positively identify which bullet is responsible, the bullet itself should be found, after which groove marks are then compared with the gun. Cartridges are easily related to pin-indentation made by the striking pin. Thus the one cartridge found, with pin marks from his gun is irrefutable evidence. What is still missing, are the two bullets(i.e. if they were not recovered) & the other cartridge. If the other cartridge is found & has similiar pin marks, this can then prove that his gun fired twice, correlating to the only gunshots heard at the time. The evidence then becomes very strongly circumstantial against him. For him to turn this case round, he has to show that there was another gun in the area,& that gun was fired too, otherwise, the balance of probabilities weighs against him.
This Nkhani is on? I thought Musonda was in Jail in Prison? What the hell is he doing OUTside. He is a criminal with a crminal mind.
Selective justice. If you on side of Thieving MMD you will be free But when u on the opposite side, like Mpombo, it’s lightening speed unfair trial and you convicted.
So imwe ba PF you don’t know that a female judge is addressed as “my LADY” shameeeeeeeeeeee