The Namibian Anti-Corruption Commission has announced the conviction of a Chinese citizen residing in Zambia over the export of illegal Mukula logs through that country.
In December 2017, a truck carrying timber from Zambia was stopped and later confiscated after the documentation presented to Customs in Namibia, appeared to be suspicious.
The owner of the timber, a Chinese citizen identified as Chinese is Mr Shi Linjiang and residing in Zambia was summoned from Zambia and on arrival in Katima Mulilo questioned by an Authorised Officer of the ACC.
He was subsequently arrested and detained and was last Friday, 19th of January 2018 convicted of an offence in terms of the Customs Act (providing false information) and sentenced to a fine of N$ 20,000.00.
The Mukula logs were forfeited to the State.
The seizure happened on New Years Eve, around 23:00 after ACC officers stopped and seized a fifth load of Rosewood carried on a Zambian truck.
This truck too carried forged paperwork based on documentation bearing the same serial numbers as two earlier loads confiscated.
The ACC observed it is now becoming more evident that a network of agents on the Zambian and Namibian sides of the border are the facilitators of this documentation.
The Mukula logs allegedly originated from Sesheke Hardwood Limited in Zambia in transit to Zhejiang Wutong Tree Supply Chain Management Co Ltd, China.
The consignment was allegedly sold for USD 1200 (around USD 60 per cubic meter although the invoice appears to be suspicious as it was marked Invoice 00002 as it was unlikely that this Limited liability Company would only have done two transactions in their financial year.
The documentation however appears to be forged as certain parts of the Phytosanitary Certificate (bearing the same serial number and RCT number of the one used by the truck bearing the Mukula wood reported earlier on, was used and only the bottom details describing the consignment were changed.
The ‘Clear Guard” treatment was allegedly done in May 2017 and the wood only exported from Zambia in December 2017.
This is a lapse of six months (International Standards dictate that this is done around 14 days before export).
The Zambia Conveyance and Production License bears the exact printed serial number as the documentation obtained from the Mukula Wood truck.
There were some of the reasonable grounds to suspect that the documentation provided for and submitted in Namibia, either at the point of entry or to Authorized Officials of the ACC are forgeries.
This raised suspicions as to the origin of the timber and why it would have been necessary to utilize forged documentation.
So what will the Zambian government do when this criminal returns to Lusaka? Dinner with Lungu? or be given a job as a Customs Officer?
Zambia should pay salaries to Namibian ACC officers.
Zambian ACC I should be deleted, the neighboring countries will work for us.
Right @Nostradamus, that is a fair deal !
Namibia has a working Govt with systems & honest non-corrupt civil servants.
Zambia on the other hand has a CORRUPT, STEALING, LAZY President & civil service who are living in pockets of tu ma Chinese.
That’s the difference!!
Good job Nambia…Meanwhile in Zambia, these are Police Reservists and to date noone has been arrested not even a truck driver because they are getting orders from the top govt officials.
Something is just not right with this mukula, when national parks and wildlife impounds and confiscates wild animal products, we hear arrests and convictions, when DEC confiscates and impound ganja, we hear arrests and convictions, but for mukula we just hear stuff impound and confiscated, no arrrests and convictions, ninshi bamene ba diling’a muvintu ivi nifwiti, you can’t see me like mushala? Something is not just right.
Dont be surprised to the lazy one in State House say he is shocked Mukula trees have disappeared.
We have lost our mukula logs to namibia. and they have also gained on he fine.
OK, EKWABA AMAFUNDE KU NAMIBIA!!
What a contrast: Zambia and Namibia
I hope they dont return the logs as Lazy Lungu will just look for another port to ship off.
The Chinese and Indian gangsters own all your black monkey arss.es in Zambia and all your minerals…..they have PF in their pockets …..it now has to take other countries to try and stop the looting of Zambias natural resources…..
This Chinese was even free taking coffee in Zambia where they tolerate stealing….how did he pass all Zambian check points in the first place
See your neighbor Namibia how its working
So “seizure happened on New Year’s Eve, around 23:00 after ACC officers stopped and seized…”, but it took the Namibian ACC to convict the culprit……while the Zambians side, ni quite chabe, nothing happened…..
Why we Zambians are always 3rd rate even comparing to our neighbouring countries? I forgot we are first in mediocrity. Even our organization are not efficient, awe mwee….
simple …. a s.hit useless president
Very embarrassing that we the owners of the resources haven’t convicted any culprit
So ka Lungu nakafulwa (Lungu is annoyed) with the Namibian authorities for arresting a brother in crime. I have said it before and i will say it again, no Chinese will be arrested in Zambia over Mukula for as long as Lungu remains President. he is himself a convicted thief who finds stealing a normal behaviour. its embarrassing, Zambia is a rotten society and one wonders why ACC officials continue drawing huge salaries and allowances for doing nothing. Lungu must go before we all die of hunger and depression. The guy (Lungu) is not inspiring at all in everything, from the way he talks (kaponya language) to being very lazy and a drunk at that.
But these fooools are quick to pray yet they are stealing…
I now believe HH that 2021 won’t reach lungu will be arrested by Zambians.please ba president wake up.too much corruption from your ministers and your aids.you have destroyed mother zambia.
Now most of you will now understand when I say as soon as you cross the border from Namibia into Zambia the workload to stay sane more than triples. In Namibia systems work. In Zambia you have tailor-made dictates from whoever decides they have authority over you. It is as if there is some form of genetic engineering going on; one roadblock says you are fine, the other roadblock says you are not… another checks your passport as if you dropped in from the sky… awe mwe.
PF corruption has spillover effects in the region. That criminal was caught in Namibia with Zambian trophy after driving kilometers in Zambia.
Please Zambians, what will it take to wake up and rise?
The chain of mukula tree is like this: From north-western province you must atleast have k20,000 in your pocket, each check point you atleast leave k4-5000 to make sure the items get to lusaka in some chinese warehouse. what happens is the police at each checkpoint know exactly the trucks because the owners pass through the checkpoints before the trucks come through, police are very much aware about the activities because they make alot of money. You cant stop them coz if you do you’re dead.
@Ma elders! spot on. can’t put it any better.
If we are really serious with corruption why don’t we track down the route the Mukula truck used in Zambia and convict and imprison police officers and customs people that allowed this truck to transport this consignment
Surely how can these stinking Zambian leaders wake up in the morning and not feel ashamed…in some big corporations in the UK the CEO is concerned with the overusing of postage stamps as opposed to email.
Hazaluza Hagain and it is tulu!
Talk about your corrupt Lungu and his forester Jean Kapata not what you are trying to start. *****