A WITNESS has told the Ndola Magistrate’s Court that suspended Copperbelt commissioner of police Mary Tembo told her that Inspector-General of Police Stella Libongani was allegedly persecuting her because she was afraid that she would divulge information on her purported involvement in the theft of 100 pockets of cement meant for projects when she served as Ndola district officer commanding.
Caroline Nkhata, 39, a senior Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) investigations officer, yesterday told chief resident magistrate Paul Chisha that Tembo told her under warn-and-caution that senior police officers allegedly wanted her hounded out of the Police Service because she refused to be bribed by copper thieves, commonly known as jerabos.
The senior police officers included former Inspector-General of Police Martin Malama, former Copperbelt commissioner of police Antoneil Mutentwa, former Copperbelt deputy commissioner of police and current Drug Enforcement Commission (DEC) commissioner Alita Mbawhe, her then deputy, Milner Muyambango, and someone only identified as Mr Namachila, a former deputy commissioner in charge of administration at the police service headquarters, .
“Your honour, I recorded a warn-and-caution statement on Sep-tember 13, 2013, from the accused and during my interactions with her, she told me that she was being allegedly fought by the IG (Ms Libongani) and some senior police officers because she refused to be on the payroll of Jerabos and that the same officers had been fighting her since her appointment as Copperbelt commissioner of police in 2011,” Ms Nkhata said.
She said Tembo even availed a letter to her allegedly authored by Ms Libongani in which the Inspector General requested her to institute investigations into allegations that she (Ms Libongani) had stolen cement meant for construction of police service structures when she served as Ndola district officer commanding.
The letter dated March 30, 2012, which was submitted to the court, also read that Ms Libongani had allegedly requested Tembo to investigate reports that she was getting bribes from jerabos when she served as Ndola district officer commanding.
Ms Nkhata testified that Tembo told her that, according to the same letter, Ms Libongani was allegedly urging her to expedite investigations into the matter because she wanted it to come to a conclusive end so that she could avail the findings to other investigative wings.
Ms Nkhata also tendered a letter as evidence in court which Tembo wrote to the then Ministry of Home Affairs permanent secretary Maxwell Nkole to complain about her alleged persecution but she was advised not to let the matter involving her abuse of authority of office case die down as she could be sitting on a time bomb.
Tembo, 53, of house number 4, Bokafu Street in Ndola, is charged with two counts of abuse of authority of office.
It is alleged that Tembo, on dates unknown but between May 1 and June 30, 2013, abused the office authority of her office as commissioner of police for the Copperbelt Province by obtaining a Toyota Corolla registration number AAX 5716 from Grizzly Mining Limited and used it for her own benefit.
In the second count, it is alleged that Tembo, on dates unknown but between November 1 and December 31, 2012 in Ndola, abused her authority of office as commissioner of Police for the Copperbelt Province by asking Grizzly Mining Limited, a private company, to fix her personal Toyota Cressida registration number F100.
This article is incoherent
This article gives an insight into the morals of our law enforcers.
She has already been to statehouse to lobby for a job I suspect since she is a ‘umodzi kumawa’. Only in Zambia..
Yah. Even me I got confused on the way. What is it really talking about?
Am not a police but honesty I like the spirit of that woman, that woman can work, I saw her closely wen in eastern province she is a serious who she does like nonsenses. investigate the mater intensively.
This is gibberish, please write proper English or use vernacular.
As @ Paul Erdos the article twists one trying to understand it. The reporting is very poor.
In developed countries where populations are always scrutinising their leaders through uncompromised media, IG Libongani would be resigning now to pave way for investigations.
In Zambia this is unheard of. How we look forward to a day when there will be no sacred cows in corruption and other crimes.
When I think of the alleged PF-sponsored attack on BGOCCA Church in Matero and Minister Miles Sampa paying the K20m to the church leaders, and to imagine that when he aspired to stand as a Presidential candidate no newspaper/radio/TV station brought out the issue, I feel angry about the hypocrisy in our reporting media and society in general.
The Head of State. President Edgar Lungu has a chance to carve a new legacy of new African leaders. Plse ask IG to resign. She can come back…
She is innocent
Article poorly written,lyk a retard
Tembo looks younger than her age
mwaona mdam muzanya anso…! chosani nsapato!
Too many pronouns in this article. Three she’s are referred to and it’s difficult to understand who’s being referred to.
then we Zambians claim to have more morals than the developed countries? There they scrutinise even behaviour of a presidential candidate’s children let alone the candidate himself/herself. Let us Zambians wake up! This is the 21st century.
Tembo worked hard to attain that rank. This could truly be sour grapes. But what are grizzly mining saying?
ZP is corrupt through and through. It is ZP which has created the dictionary used in the language of corruption, ‘boma ni boma’, ‘nizadyapo chani’, ‘nichekeleko’, etc etc, they call call their road blocks, ‘ATM’. What more can I say? When one sees a police officer, he/she sees danger not safety. Good Lord!
The teacher in me says to the author of this sensitive article:
Rewrite what Caroline Nkhata said and give your story a new heading.
How does IG’s request to investigate allegations that she (Ms Libongani) had stolen cement, become a persecution (for Mary Tembo)?
This is utter rubbish. Tembo is just guilty and now trying to ‘win’ a job from ECL over libongani. Everybody in zp know this woman. she is bad even when it comes to administration and wants to be worshipped. I recall the jerabos celebrating when former IG Malama was removed from CB on promotion as IG, how then was he part of them? If there is a police officer who brought sanity to cb over jerabos, it is dr malama. Tembo is just jealous over libongani. women fail to support each other
What does ms Tembo mean by saying she was being persecuted when she accepted the car from grizzly mining?There was no persecution at all.Do not implicate innocent people.
Am not a police officer but IG should resign Mary tembo she is hard working. God does not forsake his Children
ACC vs ZP,its devastating to see how our morals gets turnshed because of selfishness and love for money,women too are not left out.
Is there a police service in zed? Pack of rotten cabbages if you ask me.