THE Lusaka Magistrate’s Court has acquitted former President Rupiah Banda of abuse of authority of office involving a US$2.5 million government-to-government oil deal between Zambia and Nigeria.
Mr Banda, who could not control his emotions and wept, told journalists after a ruling that he is happy to have his name cleansed and urged Zambians not to embrace hatred.
Ndola High Court deputy registrar Joshua Banda, sitting as Lusaka chief resident magistrate, said the prosecution has failed to prove its case beyond reasonable doubt to warrant placing the former President on his defence.
Mr Banda, who delivered a one-and-a-half-hour ruling in a fully-packed courtroom yesterday, said: “I am satisfied that evidence laid before this court is not sufficient to place the accused on his defence. Therefore, this case is dismissed according to Section 206 of the Criminal Procedure Code (CPC).
“The consequence of this is that the accused person is acquitted and leave to appeal is granted,” Mr Banda said.
The former President was charged with one count of abuse of authority of office contrary to section 99 (1) of the Penal Code Chapter 87 of the Laws of Zambia.
Mr Banda said the prosecution’s evidence was characterised with gross inconsistency, inconclusiveness and was also contradictive.
Mr Banda said the prosecution produced documents from the Zambian side but failed to produce any document from the Nigerian side to prove that this was a government-to-government deal.
Mr Banda also said that there is no evidence that the former President instructed his son, Henry, to determine where the proceeds of the oil deal were to be channelled.
He said there is no evidence to prove that Henry opened an account under the name Izola where an initial payment of US$500,000 was paid by SARB Energy director Akpan Ekpene.
Mr Banda said there is no evidence adduced to show that the former President, Henry and his entire family benefited from the oil deal.
He said there is no evidence to show that Henry gave instructions for the transfer US$500,000 from Singapore to Japan
And the former President said in a post-ruling interview with journalists that his case should serve as a lesson to all Zambians not to retaliate to hatred with hatred.
“Let me thank you for having supported me and followed this case. I am sure some of you were praying for me and my family.
“Having being a leader of this country, I just want to ask everybody to please take this matter as a lesson to us Zambians that hatred can make you do bad things and, therefore, you do not respond to hatred with hatred,” he said.
He said Zambia should repair the hatred character if the country is to attain any meaningful development.
He called for love and peace, saying it is only through love, peace and forgiveness that the country will prosper.
The former President thanked his lawyers for their legal services and that it was through their tireless efforts that he has been acquitted properly.
“In victory, there must be magnanimity. We cannot win and at the same time be bitter. I thank you my lawyers, friends and family who have relentlessly fought battles alongside me and some of you ended up in prison just because you supported Rupiah Banda like the name Rupiah is a dirty name. But today I thank God it has been cleansed,” he said.
And one of Mr Banda’s lawyers, Sakwiba Sikota, said the case was a mere political witch-hunt because the former President did not do anything wrong.
Mr Sikota said people who have been claiming that the former President is corrupt should stop because he has been cleared by the courts of law and doing so will amount to defaming him.
The former President was accused of having abused his authority of office on unknown dates but between May 1, 2008 and September 24, 2011 in Lusaka.
He allegedly procured a US$2.5 million Nigerian government-to-government oil contract in the name of the republic of Zambia, “which he in fact meant to benefit himself and his family”.
He was accused of having instructed Henry to determine the destination of the proceeds of this contract, an instruction from which the republic of Zambia did not receive any benefit.
It was also alleged that his act was “arbitrary and prejudicial to the interests of the republic of Zambia”.
What a stoopid judge! He lets off a thief because it is his brother. Atase! Nichi Lungu caleta fyonse ifi. Sata akamimine chiwa
This judge Joshua Banda was allocated the case by Mutembo Nchito and Winter Kabimba during Michael Sata’s time.EL has nothing to do with this choice of the magistrate.How do you win a case when a key witness from Nigeria brought at great cost to the Nation by Mutembo Nchito completely exonerated RB and even said that not a single ngwee was paid by the Zambian government for the oil and you want the court to put RB on his defense.
Why did they even go to court when Mutembo nchito told the nation that….
anyway RB should praise God got taking away Sata and bring in wako-ni-Wako.
RB will always be better than HH. He is clean and innocent and is a former president. He has only failed once in an election. This can’t be said about the tonga calf! Iam happy for RB
I have to agree with the judge. From the very beginning of this case when Sata was alive i knew they would not find him guilty.
The Judge is right, the team was very weak. No you wonder why Mutombo Nchito is not a desired DPP
Speak with Wisdom. The Judge is from Sata’s era. The prosecution are the ones that couldn’t do their job.
RB is the most corrupt ex leader of Zambia this Country has ever seen whatever the court has ruled, I don’t really care. And he is one of the few old men with little wisdom, instead of him preaching national unity he is busy peaching ‘wako no wako’ tribal slogan for Easterners.. what a shame. He is what they would say of him ‘bakula kulafye’,
Easterners you also want to join the Tongas in that category
Everyone knows that this result was expected. Lungu is now best friends with RB and RB funded the PF campaign, so what else do you expect?
We have a compromised president who cannot persecute his corrupt fianciers
No wonder our country is the second poorest in the Universe!
Lesson to mahtani
That’s how you win a case
Not with a nolle
Whether its politically motivated or not. Whether the president is your friend or not.
You are just being emotional. The Judge has stated the reasons why the case has been dismissed. We Zambians think that conviction can be done by shouting and being emotional. Judges consider the law. Infact, this case was allocated to this Judge by Mutembo Nchito and Summer Kabimba. This Judge has actually sent several high profile people such as ministers to prison. You cannot accuse the judge of being incompetent. The judge has actually given the prosecution the option of appealing to the high court. It is unlikely that the case will succeed at the high court. The evidence submitted by the prosecution was contradictory and weak in many cases.
Joshua Banda acquits Rupiah Banda!
WHAT ELSE DID YOU EXPECT AFTER SPENDING SO MUCH MONEY ON CHAGWA’S CAMPAIGN?
WHAT ELSE DO YOU EXPECT FROM WAKO NI WAKO? A KUMAWA NI A KUMAWA? ROTTEN BUNCH OF ZAMBIAN LEADERS INDEED! MWACIJAYA CISI CESU NYWEBO BA KA BWALALA!
*****…. u will never rule this country
BABA if you have hard evidence against RB,you had the opportunity to place yourself as a prosecution witness during the trial.Being emotional just because the case has been ruled against your wishes is called bad manners.In any case,the judge has allowed the state to appeal if they so wish.As a citizen of this country whose money was alleged to have been stolen by RB,YOU HAVE THE RIGHT TO PRESSURIZE the state to appeal the judgement.Do not just shout RB is corrupt when you have no evidence for such statements.
I knew it was coming. But kamudala Ka Lungu apapeve waitaya.
Miscarriage of Justice; get the prosecutor out of the way and free your friend! shameful indeed.
Not bad at all in fact this should be the way forward not useless chargers pimped by politicians aimed at strengthening their mandate.
Good for RB and put this behind you and building this nation with Edgar Lungu.
Its only in Zambia where a thief is a hero
Well, the same judge acquitted the rapist Chilufya Tayali , and now he exonerates the former leader, he is accused of being a stooge. Imwe bantu kansi mufuna chani?
We called RB a thief ,suspect and so forth but the court has ruled
and declared him innocent.Now, I will never call innocent RB a thief or suspect . I pity those who hate RB because this judgement
is a big blow and torture to them .They will complain,cry,faint and
others, BP will rise. Please take it easy, this is planet earthy.
Long Live The Zambian Courts
No comment,stil in shock.
Waiting to see whether the State is going to appeal this one!
Place yourself as witness number 1 for the prosecution if you feel offended by this judgement.on the other hand if your opinion is based on what the Post Newspaper has been churning out,then you are likely going to have a stroke if you do not take it easy.
Did anyone expect magistrate Joshua BANDA to rule against Rupiah BANDA??? Long shot!!!
Just because you are a tribalist, you think everybody else is like you.
Unless you a UNPD sycophant, who has just seen this case today you can bring in an issue of WW. The case was lost when the chief witness brought from Nigeria exonerated RB by stating that GRZ never lost any Dime in the deal. In criminal law the burden to prove that a person is guilty is passed on to the prosecution, the case must be proved beyond reasonable doubt, any doubt Bakalamba ninshi money washauti, acquittal period. So place the blame on Mutembo
I agree with you. It is sad that Membe wants to be the prosecutor and judge.
Mmembe should now be in hot soup for defaming RB.
Lock ???? him up and throw away the keys.
He makes too much noise
If an ex prez as crooked as kafupi was exonerated by these same courts, what makes anyone think any crooked ex president will ever face justice in Zambia?
The pic was well-chosen for the story: He has every reason to laugh when his name sake sets him free and he knows that he still has enough power to force a nolle prosequi.
Haven’t you heard of the catch tribal phrase, “wako ni wako”?
Once again the Post Newspaper has brain washed you in deliberately misinterpreting what President Edgar Lungu said in Malambo when he went to campaign for a PF candidate.The President was very clear when he said he was going to be very comfortable working with a PF MP as Wako ni Wako.All the candidates standing in Malambo Constituency are Easterners.So who else can be excluded in Wako ni Wako if it is not on the basis of Political affiliation?Let us be careful with a Newspaper whose only aim is to fan trouble in this country.
No one should comment ill of EL because the court is independent RB is free.Zambian courts are really independent after the ascendance of EL to power
Why is no one pointing fingers, in fact all ten of them at the prosecution? Seriously, why are we always bickering without looking at the facts.
Viva President Nawakwi.
We just wait for the next ruling over Hon EL wishing to rule for 5yrs. RB acquital is just a beginning.
Continue with ‘IFINTU NI LUNGU’ and see if RB will give you even a penny from the loot! Not even a glass of water!
Its only the Almighty God who knows whether RB is really innocent. What ever schemes were hatched behind the scenes like FTJ’s will be laid bare one day by the Supreme Judge. My only advice to RB is to know God and repent-period
I think asking people to pretend RB is trustworthy is asking too much.
It’s very sad, but the truth is that the prosecution was weak, but THAT DOES NOT MEAN RB IS INNOCENT.
Expecting RB to be trustworthy and honest is a little like expecting a bull not to attack you because you are a vegetarian!
This Presidential immunity thing is all nonsense. Real democracies prosecute their leaders while they are still in office.
That way everyone knows if they mess up ni ndende.
DZIKO LATHA!!!
R.B’s Campaign investment has surely reaped mega profit.
He can now go into full gear & reap more, whilst coaching the new boys, how it’s done without getting caught.
Ba pitilizani kudya Bambo!!
All you ignorant bigots, a political case can not turn around and become a criminal case. That RB stole was a political accusation that could not stand up to the scrutiny of criminal procedure! Mutembo Nchito was appointed to specifically prosecute RB. It is just that Mr Sata had neither shame nor any understanding of law otherwise he could not even have attempted to push RB around. They knew they did not stand a chance in court that is why they resorted to wanting to put RB in prison by hook and crook. But Sakwiba Sikota was equal to the task!
Mutembo was appointed specifically to persecute RB. Not to prosecute RB.
Nothing unusual. What else did you expect from the country’s “co-principle”? Birds of the same……………….
Evidence was too weak, there was no other way this could have ended
No one supplied oil. No one paid money. No one signed an oil deal.
So where was the case?
Even my daughter could have handled this one.
Ba UPND supporter u r o useless. When Nchito enter a quick nolle against yo HH u were o quite. Nchito is now a upnd hero. When he was arresting ka HH u were full of words. Upnd is not in power, so yo understanding of issues is below par. so keep quite
If Sata was alive do you think RB would’ve been acquitted? That’s the zambian injustice system
If the reason for not acquitting RB was Sata, then we can fairly conclude that the Judiciary was not independent during Sata.
@itizi turu! That can’t work out in Africa! If anything the current arrangement is a bit ok. To start with, how do judges rule against a sitting president who appointed them and who has the power to fire and even retire them in national interest if he so wishes! These are some the things that must be changed in the new constitution! The president’s powers should be reduced. Judges should be appointed by an independent board and not by the president or indeed politicians!
return march Sata 0 RB 5
RB/DOLA 4 SATA/MMEMBE 1
goal aggregate 9 – 1
I think this ruling will hurt Lungu in the elections. Even if there was no evidence, people will not look at it like that, it will be a case of him favoring a fellow Easterner, just look at the majority of comments here.
I am actually so disappointed. Is it that these people that steal are so good at it that they can’t be caught, or our investigation and prosecution system is useless.
Lungu achita chani imwe bantu?He is not the one who arrested RB and NOT the one who decided RB should be prosecuted,it was Mutembo Nchito.You believe too much in what the post writes instead of being analytical to the case.Some ka chap was acquited of rape and everyone said the judiciary is independent.Now that RB has been found with no case to answer,the judiciary is biased
The fools are SATA and Winter for coming up with stupid charges. Shame on both of them for their vindictiveness. RB looks a saint now.
So the taxpayers will end up compensating Mr. Banda huge sums of money because PF and Mmembe started something which was ill-conceived? What a country!
FROM THE THE WORD GO WE HAVE BEEN EXPECTING SUCH A VERDICT, BECAUSE THIS PRESIDENCY WAS SET UP BY RB HIMSELF BY SETTING FREE CHILUBA AND HE DIED A FREE MAN OR FREE GENTLEMAN OR A FREE KAPONYA BUT HIS SOUL IS NOT RESTING IN PEACE COZ HE STOLE FROM THE ZAMBIANS. ZAMTROP DID NOT BELONG TO HIMSELF, THESE ARE POLITICIANS IN ZAMBIA. LUNGU CHAKOLWA WILL STEAL AND ACQUITTED BY WHO EVER COMES IN, BUT AS FOR US FORM GOVERNMENT, IT SHALL BE A FIRING SQUAD I MEAN KILLING ALL PLUNDERERS AND LET THEM REST IN PIECES. ALLAH, LESA, MULUNGU, MULENNA OUR GOD ZAMBIA N WAY THESE ARE ALL CRIMINALS. IT CAN JUST TAKE ME ALONE TO CLEAR THEM ALL TO FREE POOR COUNTRY WHICH IS ON AUTO PILOT AT THE MOMENT. HELL HELL HELL HELL HELL.
I would want to stand near you, you sound like one of the likes who indiscriminately shoot tourists on beaches.
Meant I WOULDN’T want to stand near you, you sound like one of the likes who indiscriminately shoot tourists on beaches.
You are sick really sick in that head of yours.
The question should be why did our parliament find it fit to lift his immunity when he had no case to answer?
I think there is a simple lesson here. A sitting president should use his/her short time in office to serve the people in the best way possible and not embark on futile persecutions. We all know KK did not do that to the colonialists despite the fact they are the worst offenders known so far!
Then in came Chiluba. Don’t we all know now how disgraced he turned out? Chiluba was followed by a persecutor of the persecutor whose achievements in office remain a debate. Of all presidents Zambia has had, Sata should have known better how to use his time in office.
This is a lesson on how administrations should not spend their time in office and waste it fruitless ventures.
WHICH PARLIAMENT MY BROTHER, WAS IT NOT THE SAME PF THAT LIFTED CHI RUPHIA CHI BWE ZENI KUMUNZI CHI BANDA. FOR YOUR OWN INFORMATION IT’S RB WHO USED ……TO POISON SATA TO DIE FOR HIM TO BE ACQUITTED TODAY. LUNGU WAS SPYING IN PF AND PLAYED A PART IN KILLING BA SATA. US GUYS ARE NOW GOING TO GUN HIM DOWN DAY LIGHT TO SAVE THIS COUNTRY FROM WHAT WE CALL INSITICT OF AN ECONOMY.. CROCODILE TEARS WHERE FROM CHAKOLWA AND RB. IT’S THIS ONCE GROBLE TROTTER WHO IS RULING. 2016 SHALL BE THE REAL AND TRUE PF VERSUS DORA, LUNGU, RB TO NAME THEM BUT………………………..
calm it down will you?
Nyamasoya…what an Old corrupt Arse.whore!! It’s not over until it is over – the bastard will pay heavily!!
We have always said and say it again that Mmembes game is over. Priming people to hate innocent Zambians is Mmembes game of isolating and removing innocent political heavy weights from political participation. Mmembe knows that their accusations of RB had no truth and Mutembo’ own witness came and exonerated RB in court. So what do you expect of the Judge to do. To find RB with a case just because RB beat his Magande and supported ECL in 2015 Presidential elections. It is this irrationality and delusional thinking that is destroying the countries. Thanks God many Zambians have understood this game. Its is over for Mmembe and his cohorts.
Not surprised, This was the deal
It was all along a politically instigated case by Sata’s vindictive govt.
Glad it went to naught.
Mutembo the fat desk lawyer lied to Sata that he was a criminal lawyer but the truth? He had never prosecuted before Levy gave him 20,000 usd per month to run after Kafupi. After one year even Levy questioned the setting up of the task force which was a conduit for Marko Chona to get rich as usual…..his LEAD witness came here and broke down in court stating no money had been paid to RB or to him YES RB had asked for contributions to his campaign but other than that nothing had been paid no oil was delivered and the contract that Konga carried in his briefcase was never signed..if anything Kachingwe behaved like a thief he is the one who forged government paper and the stamp but the fat man decided he want t nail RB and failed just as he failed to nail Dora……
Ni Acquittal Ya Nyoko
Fred Mmembe BOMBASA yapona.
Good lucky RB now you are free.
God is in control
Speaking as a Zambian, I would like to live in a Zambia which is free of Malice, hatred, and all related schemes of evil, including corruption.
This ruling alone signifies the beginning of Fragmentation of the axis of evil constituted and represented by Mmembe, Mutembo, Lubonde and Tayali.
All keys for the doors of hatred must be confiscated from Fred and Mutembo. All windows of hatred must be closed.
I propose that we pass a law which punishes schemers for at least 3/4 of the Jail sentence which would have applied to the accused if the case was true.
These two, Bwezani and Chagwa, both beneficiaries of a dead president. I wonder what they say to one another when they are behind closed doors. Two losers joined by the death of their bosses. What a pathetic pair.
RB was, it is and always shall be certified crook and embezzler.