Thursday, March 28, 2024

Embattled DPP Mutembo Nchito fights back

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DPP Mutembo Nchito
DPP Mutembo Nchito

Lusaka High Court judge Mwila Chitabo has put on hold a tribunal constituted by President Edgar Lungu to probe misconduct and alleged acts of impropriety by the Director of Public Prosecution, Mr. Mutembo Nchito.

The Lusaka High Court ordered a stay of the tribunal,after granting Mutembo Nchito leave to apply for judicial review to determine the constitutionality of President Edgar Lungu’s tribunal.

The President appointed three former chief Justices to the Tribunal namely Hon. Mr. Justice Annel Silungwe (Former Chief Justice)-Chairperson,Hon. Mr. Justice Mathew Ngulube (Former Chief Justice)- Member,Hon. Mr. Ernest Sakala (Former Chief Justice)-Member and Mr. Mathew Zulu (Secretary).

The Tribunal had been tasked with 8 Terms of reference as follows:

1. Investigate allegations that the Director Public Prosecution (DPP) has repeatedly abused the authority of his office by indiscriminately entering nolle prosequi in cases in which he is alleged to have an interest of his own to serve, namely:

(a) The People vs. Shubert Sinkala, where the DPP had not even seen the evidence from the Complainant;
(b) The People vs Hakainde Hichilema, despite knowing that the Attorney General had advised the DPP that the State had appealed against the judgment of the High Court that declared Section 67 of the Penal Code unconstitutional;
(c) The People v. Lameck Phiri;
(d) The People V. Rajan Mahtani and John Peter Sangwa;

2. Investigate alleged misconduct or misbehavior of the DPP whereby on 20th February, 2015 the DPP purportedly took over prosecution of a matter before Senior Resident Magistrate, Lameck Mwale where the DPP was personally an accused person and proceeded to enter a nolle prosequi in his own case thereby defeating the ends of justice;

3. Investigate the DPP’s alleged uttering of a false document procured by means of false and fraudulent representation to Mr. Justice Gregory Phiri, Judge of the Supreme Court, under Cause Number 1998/HP/2097 whereby he inserted and sneaked in two extraneous paragraphs in an order of court thereby misleading the Court;

4. Investigate the DPP’s act of intentional disrespect to judicial proceedings and to Mr. Justice Nigel Kalonde Mutuna, Judge of the High Court, in particular, between 1st January, 2011 and 31st December, 2012 by walking away from the Court;

5. Investigate the allegation that the DPP has taken over matters in which he has a conflict of interest relating to his business partners (Fred M’membe and the Post Newspaper Limited) Rajan Mahtani (Creditor) thereby going against his statement made before the Parliamentary Select Committee of the National Assembly of Zambia chaired by Honourable Lucky Mulusa that he would not take over such matters;
6. Investigate allegations that the DPP connived with and instigated officers from the Drug Enforcement Commission (DEC) to plant illicit drugs on Mr. Brebner Changala and Mrs. Agness Kawandami whereby the DEC swapped vermox tablets also call Mebendazole used for de-worming human beings that were found in Mrs. Agness Kawandami’s belongings at Mr. Changala’s residence with what was said to be Metamphetamine or Ecstacy;

7. Investigate the alleged misbehavior of the DPP whereby on or about 8th May, 2013, he purportedly took over the prosecution of his known business allies Mr. Fred Mmembe and the Post Newspaper Limited without declaring conflict of interest in a matter where a complaint was laid by a private citizen against the duo for contempt of court;

8. Recommend to the President whether the DPP ought to be removed from office for above allegation

82 COMMENTS

    • this mess is now dragging the whole innocent zambia with it ,,, lungu (with his `sugar` and beer) and RB( with his deals with FJT) vs Mmembe, nchito( with their debts) and bitter Kabimba (the man who should have succeded Sata)

    • LAST KICKS OF A DYING HORSE. STAY OR NO STAY OF EXECUTION, HE IS A SUSPENDED DPP AND HAS NO JOB. ONE WONDERS IF HE WILL EVER RETURN TO POSITION OF DPP. WHY NOT JUST RESIGN THAN WASTING OUR TIME IN PLAYING SMART WHEN U ARE NOT? THIS IS JUST RAINBOW PARTY MEMBERS ATTITUDE DIDN’T U SEE GUY SCOT’S BEHAVIOUR AND WHERE IS HE NOW?

    • This case will be concluded long after ECL had left office in 2016. ECL and his partner RB will be recorded as the shortest serving presidents in Zambia. The clock is ticking.

    • Nchito is doing right by Zambia, he is fighting for Zambia’s corner & it is admirable that we still have a few descent people in Zambia. Clearly the majority of you lot the crooks will never see right if it hits you in the face! You were born in corruption, breast fed on corruption & bathed in corruption, you are what is wrong with Africa, yes you, yes you, you are the mess that Africa is and you put the few of us descent Africans to shame! I do wish for Zambia & Africa’s sake we had more Nchito but alas we get Lungu, RB, Mumba, Chiluba – evil men, terrible scams, a curse on Africa, Africa turned dark the day these lot were born!

    • @ Blago, this has nothing to do with Nchito not having anything else to do; he is just showing you that he knows the Law better than Nguni and Lungu.

    • Kabimba is a dull lawyer.I dont expect him to challenge Lungu, that he should have counsulted the Judicial service commission to suspended nchito. Look at Article 57 of Const.

      “Whenever the Director of Public Prosecutions is absent from Zambia or the President considers it desirable so to do by reason of the illness of the Director of Public Prosecutions or for any other cause, HE MAY on the advice of the Judicial Service Commission appoint any person to discharge the functions of the Director of Public Prosecutions until such appointment is revoked.

      the use of the term may is discretion.it is upto him whether to consult JSC or not.
      Refer the case of Dean Mung’omba v the Attorney General. this argued and Chiluba was justified to order state of emmergency without consulting…

  1. He is a rascal but he is kinda cute and one of the few Zambians who actually looks smart (as in IQ)…..Lets see how this fight plays out.Hope the dull MPs have learnt a lesson and will in future learn to use their brains and not just ratify people anyhow.

  2. The cycle will never stop. Next when Lungu has left office the next govt will again sue Rupiah, acquit Nchito, etc

  3. Lessons from the Chikopa Tribunal being applied. We are in a long wait before this issue is put to its logical conclusion. Long live Zambian Justices System; it is a tongue twister.

  4. Kanshi ba Nchito muli mutofwe? Why rush to the courts if you know the decision you made were solid?

    Mambilima must move very fast because the judiciary is certainly rotten and infiltrated. So, why did Zambia keep old Chibesakunda as Chief Justice for so long? Balelya ishalutu!

    This Chibesakunda family is very dangerous and it needs cleansing in most Government institutions.

    • EVEN MAMBILIMA IS ROTTEN MWE
      IF KWENA SHES A WOMAN OF SUBSTANCE THE RESULTS THAT WERE BEING COCKED UP AT MULUNGUSHI SHOULD HAVE BN RECOUNTED.
      ASK LOMBE CHIBESAKUNDA .
      MAMBILIMA IS BIASED TOO .
      DONT TRUST THE JUDICIARY NOW MWAMONA ATI RB
      WAS THE WINNER

    • But you are the same people who were saying he is done for. Law does not work like that, people. This guy is no dummy, that you can take to the bank.

  5. Can someone educate me. Is it the same judge who ruled against chongwe subordinate court? The President should ignore the stay. Mwanawasa did the same on two occassions when he argued separation of power and his Constitution power. Let see what will happen.

  6. Credible terms of reference! The DPP will be caught in his intricate web of injustice! One credible aspect that has come out is the independence of our justice system- there is some autonomy in its functionality- hats off to our legal system!

  7. Last time when I said Lungu is just a political football and major players are RB and group while on the other goal post we have mmembe and the group.I went on to inform pf voters that you voted for two devils,either for corrupt RB or evil mmembe and not for development. But guess what they said-ati I smoke too much.but see now what is happening,no fuel,high mealie meal prices etc so after surgery from joberg we shall now have another Face book president since you want Edgar to follow Sata’s legacy,

  8. Of course in law, it’s not always the innocent that walk out of the ‘jaws’ of law nor the guilty that end up in the dungeon of punishment! The lawyers’ trickery is always at work!Lawyers are rare in heaven!

  9. kabulo-muleya, I think this is one judge who knows the reading of the books of law. Curriculum of Zambian education should be revised, some of the so called educated at UNZA can not even read or write, just saying.

  10. When a country became an animal farm what did its citizens do? While Zambians are peaceful and used to suffering so they will watch and praise thieves. Here is my take, other animals are more superior than others, Nchito, Kanitundila, ECL should sit down and forgive themselves for wrong doings, case closed. No more these cases, next year vote the chaps out and start anew. Leave Nchito as DDP, he does not even need that job, that job was meant to protect the interest of wrong doers in various camps and that is acceptable especially in undeveloped countries, Zambia included. Remember the cartel were founder sponsors of PF, ECL took over on a silver plate, if not careful…….

    • His Excellency did NOT take over on a silver plate! Where were you during PF in fighting and court cases??!

    • @Patriot Abroad – His excellence – lol, smh! What drink or substance have you been consuming? Are you one these embassy f00ls? Plz spare us this mindless childish crap, just eat your porridge, you see 2016 is around the corner and you might find yourself homeless – remember to add some peanut butter to your porridge, it will fatten you up a little to prepare you for those cold nights on the street! It must be miserable being political appointee isn’t it, your tummy basically replaces your brain! What a wasted life, what miserable way to exist, but hey you were told to do your home work & you thought you were smarter than everyone, now reality has caught up with you, you are a kool-aid drinker, proper useless! I am glad I don’t have to deal with silly people like you!

    • NCHITO needs the job to protect his partners and creditors FRED M’membe and Mahtani. He also needs it to avoid paying 14 billion looted from DBZ.

  11. This will be in the courts till Edgar’s term ends next year.

    Speak of hammering the last nail in your own coffin Mr. president.

    Lungu has bitten more than he can chew this time.

    No contest here

  12. THE MAN HAS CONCEDED TO HAVING COMMITED THE WRONG BY RUSHING TO COURT.
    MAY BE HE NEVER THOUGHT THAT ONE DAY HE WILL HAVE TO VACATE THE OFFICE. ITS BETTER TO BE MINDFUL OF TOMORROW.

    • Really? By going to court he has conceded that he is wrong? What about the judges who went to court to fight their tribunal? Were they also admitting that were wrong?
      Let’s be reasonable. He is entitled to protect himself against people who want to use the law to ‘fix’ their enemies. It is his right.
      At the end of the process would be the correct time to see whether he is wrong or right. The tribunal has not even sat and you already know that he is wrong!
      He is going to court to protect himself from people with mentalities like you.

    • @GK. The Judges were protecting themselves from the DPP and Mmembe who wanted to fix them. DPP actually said instead of Nguni’s attempt to bring criminal charges a tribunal should be set. Surprisingly when the Tribunal is set he tries to stop it by going to Court. The bottom line is that DPP does not want to be accountable in any way.

  13. #16, just checking whose backside are you talking about because there are two names being mentioned in this article? ?

  14. Fire this above the law abusive chap.

    He is using taxpayers’ money hide something.

    Mutembo must read Philippians 2.1-11.

  15. Zambia needs more people who can stand up to little dictators and show them that they are not above the law. If cauld to give evidence on how Mutembo became DPP what will edgar say? Did he vote for him or not? We have a useless President and useless gvt. Now what is Kambwili saying. Just a week ago he was saying gvt is not involved.

  16. He told you he is not above or below the law. So is the president and thats why we have RB appearing for his corruption cases.

  17. There is one missing on the terms of reference which is DBZ vs Mutembo and his friends the money took that belongs to the people of Zambia which they have not paid. It seems PF benefited from that money. We need our money back

    • He borrowed the money in his own personal capacity as Mutenbo and not as DPP. So the only entity which can take Mutembo to courts are the financiers. It’s cardinal to have a distinction between MUTEMBO as an individual and DPP portfolio. Ubukopo no buwelebwele ba fimo fimo.

    • @Icalo Lifupa, there is a conflict of interest where the individual the DPP’s office bearer is one and the same person. The DPP won’t prosecute Mutembo the individual

    • But Edgar Lungu is the worst criminal than the DPP.

      In fact the mistreatment the DPP is facing has made him more popular than the President himself.

  18. The ending to this will be when citizens exercise their right to march to, his office and sort him out by crowd mob rule.

    The judiciary should stop making themselves irrelevant to its citizens.

  19. Lungu ni go’nga. RB will destroy this nation if PF is entertaining him. I voted for ECL but now I hate PF. The adoption of corrupt MMD MPs to recontest there seats speak volumes.

  20. Zambia needs this kind of wake up call. It has been constitutionally sleeping for decades. Just a typical African country. What a worst!

  21. The presdo always wins….DPP director of pathiki pako what about the cinstituality of your nolle? Who applied for a stay of that execution? All the president has to do is write to the Chief Justice from Pretoria claiming seperation of powers and claim independence from the judiciary for an executive order that is provided for by the constitution, as grounds for vetoing/ ignoring the “injunction”. Waiting for the courts will take ages. This guy needs to be sorted out now or he will turn in lungus back. He is very vengeful!

  22. Whatever, nothing on earth lasts forever. One day, justice will catch up with “smart” criminals who try to use the law to get away with crime.

    If one is really innocent, why totally refuse to be tried in the court of law or face the tribunal and clear yourself?

    I don’t see anything to admire in a person tasked with prosecuting others perceived to have committed crimes who doesn’t think the same law can and ought to be applied on them in the event that they too are perceived to have committed crimes.

    Unless Mutembo Nchito clears his name in court or before a tribunal, I take it he’s a criminal trying to hide.

  23. Well done Mr. DPP.

    Show the Kachasu Man that the fact that he is the president should not give him express authority to use his excessive powers to be a dictator and target his enemies.

    He is used in ordering the beer seling people to give him bottles on credit and wanted to equate raning govt to that. Law is Law.

    The case will only come to rest after the burial of the Kachasu Man which I predict will take place before the end of next year.

  24. Edgar Lungu is a problematic President. He is a muslim member of Boko Haram no wonder Muslims were the first people to wish him well when he fell down.

    Let him die in peace, and we are more than ready to burry him at Embassy Park.

  25. Edgar Lungu is currently the most hated man in Zambia.

    Let him be put to rest if he has died in South Africa and not issuing baseless directives against the innocent DPP.

    What a foolish president we have!

  26. The Kachsu Man is brain dead. The problem that we have in Zambia is that we allow corpses from the mortuary to issue directives.

    I personally dont want to hear anything from Edgar Lungu. To me Edgar is a dead man who is just waiting to be buried.

    It bye bye Edgar. Nature has saved us from your dictatorial tendancies.

  27. Instead of fighting the falling Kwacha, high cost of mealie meal and shortages of fuel, the Sick Drunkard chooses to fight the DPP.

    What has the DPP has got to do with the economy of Zambia?

    I pray that Edgar :Lungu comes back in a casket so that Zambia can reclaim its diginity.

    Rupiah Banda has done more harm than good to Zambia, rulling Zambia without mandate. Lungu is not the one ruling but Rupia.

    Edgar Lungu please be informed that I was one of the more Zambians that were happy of your sickness because you are the most useless President.

    I wish your sickness can take you today tomoro may be too late.

    Edgar Lungu; you are a cursed President. You are possesed.

  28. Typical of the ****en cartel hypocricy! They prosecuted people both in court and in the post but him even failed to take plea! They made tribunals with Sata and made those learned Judges look stupid just because they never wanted to pay back their loan. God will harshly punish these *****s who thinks they are above everyone! And somw times i wonder what we want as Zambians, they cried for removal of cartel who held the country hostage but this time around they are blaming the President for hearing their cry. Its high time people started thinking above tribe an political affiliation if this country is to move and it can only move if this ****en cartel judge is kicked out

  29. Mutembo Nchito is entitled to justice. He is entitled to ensure the constitutionality of the tribunal.
    From the looks of it, ECL just wants to ‘fix’ him. This issue started with the nonsense in Chongwe, by Nguni. There is no way in hell a President cannot know that his DPP has been arrested by a convoy of 6 police cars based on a faulty arrest warrant.
    We need more people like Mutembo who will stand up to tin pot dictators and stand on their rights.
    Way to go DPP! We are behind you.

  30. Comments 29, 30, 31 and 32 are from a heartless soul or souls, who will do well to repent if they consider themselves Christians. There is no reason a sane person should wish others death due to differences.

  31. Some blogger by the name of Mobile Phone Gondwe suggests that Mutembo is one of the few remaining decent people in this country. I wonder, from what we know about this DPP has the definition of decent been changed by the Queen of England? Or maybe Mr Mobile does not understand English? Or more likely he is a crook himself for crooks do not see themselves as wrong doers and do not understand why prisons have been established for them and see it as discrimination.

    • Mr Chief Cadre,
      What puzzles me is that all the people fighting Mutembo are questionable characters e.g. RB (thru his lawyers), Mweemba (facing corruption charges) & Nguni (who is closely associated with Mosho, who is facing corruption charges – stealing K45million from Shoprite). Nguni was the same character who sued Guy Scott on behalf of ECL.
      Given a choice to choose between Mutembo and these other guys, I think those championing his downfall are no angels.
      What Mobile Phone Gondwe says at 1.6 rings true. Mutembo is doing right by Zambia. He is not afraid to stand up based on what the law says. Let us support the rule of law. Why shud he sacrifice himself simply becoz RB & Co want to get away with theft!
      All right thinking Zambians will wait for the process to reach its…

    • All the allegations you are claimimg to know were tabled before parliament before the DPP ratification.The most prominent one was DBZ loan.Nchito never got any loan from DBZ, but Zambian airways( a limited company) did.Of course Nchito was one of the shareholders (actually,a company where Nchito had shares owned shares in zambian airways).The company law,or from a little bussiness law from accounts and other business courses,liabilities of a company cannot be claimed from shareholder.The loan was organised by a cornsotium of 5 banks,experts,how do you accuse a shareholder of borrowing with no intension of paying back?This was just a business that failed.Parliament didnt agree with the allegations hence the ratification.MPs,including lungu and the opposition,anonymously voted for Nchito.

  32. If Muntombe Nchito (***) is not hiding anything why rush to courts for protection? Bafikala aba bacilamo fye bukabolala time to sort them out, together with tufikala to judge like Lusaka High Court judge Mwila Chitabo. Who is this Mwila Chitabo kanshi? Ni ba judge ba nsala aba balibashita.

    Lungu time to crush them like bricks is now. Sometimes, to be an effective leader you have to combine both democratic and dictatorial principles to achieve some results. Especially in Zambia where even the judiciary is so corrupt, one has to have a very thick skin to lead the country. Lungu, get some guidance from Kaunda, he will tell you some of these people in his time would not have survived.

  33. The issue is because of his conflict of interest, which he has consistently failed to acknowledge, parliament erred in ratifying him… And that includes lungu who vote for him. Question is… Should a wrong not be corrected because of the credibility of the accuser or the credibility of the accusations? In my opinion, the former is immaterial as even criminals can be aggrieved. Accusers, are also not below the law. If truly innocent why blocking the court process by a nolle or thwarting the commencement of tribunal proceedings? You are a lawyer after all just clear your name and not play ball.

    • Ah, but for him to clear his name, the ground rules must be agreed to and a level playing field must be ensured. Have you never heard that some results are rigged?
      By the time the tribunal starts, all the players must be agreed to what the rules are and which ‘game’ is being played. Especially if your opponents can kidnap you & ignore a High Court order (remeber Chongwe). There is a reason Mutembo is considered a ‘damn good lawyer’. Unlike you, he will not walk into a trap blindly.
      Iam a layman, but I thot the ‘self nolle’ was agreed to by the court & the way to fight it is to appeal to the High Court? What do you expect the tribunal to say? To go against the court ruling?
      All I see is “Let’s fix this DPP and free RB for supporting me”.

  34. Mr Lazarous Mbeu, I think that you have answered yourself. In your own words you tell us the people that you refer to as criminals are in court facing various charges, i.e. Musho, RB, Mweemba. Whether these people are criminals or not will be determined by the courts of law, not me. That is all we want for Mutembo Nchito too, given that there is prima facie evidence against him to warrant an appearance before a tribunal. Mutembo may be guilty or not but he has a chance to clear his name. So what is it that he or you are afraid of? Others are in court to clear their names, why not Mutembo? Are you comfortable with all those suspicious nolles, or the fairness of trying to prosecute his business assocuates? Do you want Mr Nchito to live the rest of his life as a suspect?

    • If I could say something, Chief Cadre. Do you think that the cases you refer to that are in court will not all receive ‘nolles’ once Mr Mutembo Nchito is removed as DPP? Seriously allegations have been made by credible people that ECL has a pact with RB to stop his criminal charges as payment for supporting him in the elections. This is what we are seeing. It is starting with the removal of the DPP. That is why he must fight, legally.

  35. Now Zambians are paying dearly for politicizing the Judiciary. This is how criminal gangs we read in Mexico and the “OUR THING” started. When people lose faith in the Judiciary, Rule of the powerful and mafia takes over.
    Justice Chitabo is behaving like a member of Unzasu rogue. No wonder why it took him more than 30 years not to be recognized as lawyer worth a judge. But Kabimba and night school lawyer Mmembe caused this it and the results are being seen.
    However the truth is Mutembo is not going to appear before any court as DPP. Typical of last kicks of a dying hyena. No hero is made out of such an issue and Judge Chitabo has miscalculated. Only short time will tell. What is Mutembo afraid of if he is innocent? EL graduated with colors at ZILALE. Mutembo, Kabimba and Mmembe did…

    • What can be his fears? I can think of a number:
      1 – That what happened in Chongwe is being repeated in this tribunal. a) The arrest was illegal, but Newton & company didn’t give a damn.
      b) There was a High Court order nullifying the warrant, but they didn’t give a damn
      c) The Police knew that what they were doing was illegal, but they went ahead and broke down his bedroom door & arrested him.
      2 – Most of the ‘Terms of Reference’ are based on allegations by “members of the public”. Have these allegations been investigated by the lawful authorities to show ‘probable cause’?
      3 – Two of the panelists lost their jobs, directly or indirectly, because of Mutembo. Will he get a fair hearing?
      So, his fears are that this tribunal is a charade to ‘sort him out’, like…

  36. Dyonko at 40.2 & 40.3
    I think Zambia is that bad. Think about the Chongwe fiasco.
    a) The DPP was “arrested” because Newton Nguni accused him of those crimes. Newton was supposed to have reported his allegations to the police, who are supposed to investigate.
    b) The magistrate knew that the DPP resided in Lusaka, but went ahead to issue the warrant of arrest
    c) The Police ignored a High Court when picking the DPP up, breaking his bedroom door
    d) The Chongwe Magistrate also ignored the High Court order. A second High Court order had to be got!
    e) They still wanted to arrest him and go ahead with the ‘trial’.
    f) The tribunal is set up because certain “members of the public have raised allegations” – NOT that the investigative wings have looked at those allegations!
    YES, IT…

  37. We warned you pipo that he won’t last coz he stole votes starting from mulungushi in kabwe up to the elections. God was watching. Katondo boys u comment on your boss,s health coz you argued before. Let him go.

  38. I long for a time when the Zambian Judiciary will be respected once again. But this will be difficult when you give young boys who have not been out of law school for more than 15 years very senior positions in the Judiciary and government. You make boys SCC and Judges who were in law school just 10-15 years ago. Nchito, Mwenye and even Mmembe were in law school not too long ago and now are calling the shots in law? Aint they still learning? Who is this Judge Chitambo, can someone tell me when he finished law school? Who is this Makebi Zulu who is defending Rupiah Banda? Where are seasoned lawyers like Sikota, Mvunga, Chifumu etc? Why do we have minions running the Zambian Courts? Is n’t this the reason we have judges overruling presidents? What is happening with the courts in Zambia?

  39. discipline must be checked in the judiciary. Professionalism must also be checked and equally critically monitor any form of corruption that may rear or must have reared ugly head. Unless we move as a country in a direction of not shielding wrong doing, we will not be able to reach to results we want to see positively in our nation. It is like we delight in wanting to see others incarcerated with impunity but when it is upon us we gather all bazookas to protect ourselves. Why are we afraid of judicial processes? Does this signify guilty?

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