THE Lusaka Magistrate Court has acquitted Lusaka lawyer Mutemwa Mutemwa, his son, also a lawyer and a police officer Dennis Mano Kayombo who pleaded not guilty to charges of theft of US$800, 000 after the state decided to withdraw the matter from the court.
The withdrawal by the state angered the judge who warned the state to be serious with some of the matters they bring to the court, saying matters have to be fully investigated to avoid such withdrawals.
This is in a matter in which Lloyd Chinjenge, 42, a businessman of Lusaka applied for the matter to be dismissed stating that there are some ongoing transactions between him and the accused and also that he has a good relationship with the lawyer.
Mutemwa senior, his son Mutemwa Jnr and Kayombo appeared before resident magistrate Dominic Makalicha in a matter in which they were charged with two counts of theft.
However, after the court analyzed the submissions made by the complainant and the prosecutor and their reasons were given, it dismissed the matter.
“The state through the prosecutor are the ones who brought the accused to court and these are the same people who have suggested to offer no evidence against the accused, the court therein is kept with no option but to have the matter withdrawn because they have chosen to offer no evidence against the accused,” said Magistrate Makalicha.
He further said people should stop using the court as a “rubber stamp” having matters within the courts when in fact it’s the state that is not interested in prosecuting the matter.
In October, according to a Zambia Police statement, a lawyer and a police officer were on the run after they allegedly stole US$800,000 during a search party at a suspect’s home. Police spokesperson Rae Hamoonga, in a statement, named the fugitives as Mutemwa Mutemwa State Counsel (SC) of Mutemwa Legal Practitioners and Detective Chief Inspector Mano Kayombo of Lusaka Central Police Station.
According to the statement, Mr. Hamoonga said that the money is the property of Lloyd Chinjenge of House number 2415 Ibex Hill Lusaka. Mr Hamoonga said the incident occurred on 19th October, 2021 in Salama Park area, Lusaka, when police received information that Chinjenge was in possession of an undisclosed amount of money on his premises believed to have been unlawfully obtained.
He said a search party of officers, among them Detective Chief Inspector Kayombo was constituted to conduct searches on two premises belonging to Chinjenge in Salama Park and another in Ibex Hill.
Mr. Hamoonga said both searches were witnessed by Mutemwa Mutemwa Junior on behalf of Chinjenge.
“Not known to the rest of the search party, whilst the search was going on at the ibex hill premise, Mano and Mutemwa SC, who was instructed by Mutemwa Jnr to assist, went to the Salama Park residence and picked up two bags suspected to have contained the sought money from one of the motor vehicles belonging to Chinjenge on his instruction for safe custody. The incident was witnessed by an officer undercover who was left to keep vigil at the said residence.
“The following day, the 20th October 2021 Chinjenge reported to the police that the said lawyers stole the $800,000=00 which he had entrusted them to secure,” Mr Hamoonga said.
He said when police summoned Mutemwa Jnr and under warn and caution, he disclosed that Mutemwa SC and Mano got the money amounting to $400,000.00 and not $800,000. Mr. Hamoonga said Mutemwa has since been arrested for theft.
We’re being played.
Soon after the MMD came into office, a certain Malian by the name of Galedou was forcebly bundled on to a plane and flown out the country. Rumors were that this man had bankrolled the MMD with certain conditions. Since the MMD as goverment wouldn’t do that, the only option was to deport and PId the man.
Fighting corruption or enabling corruption..which one is which???? CORRUPTION IS GETTING EVEN WORSE UNDER UPND…even the speaker is corrupt
SOME PEOPLE ARE BORN TO CALL NIGHT DAY AND DAY NIGHT
IT’S JUST HOW THEY ARE
SO ANNOYING
There’s a lot of immaturity in the manner that our justice system is abused. The problem isn’t the officers involved but the system. We have failed to come with a credible justice system. Even those countries that were born recently like South Africa have made tremendous progress while we keep moving in circles. We’re a laughing-stock in the region yet we claim to be a great nation. What’s about Zambia apart from the CV that KK built? The man we later declared as stateless? We are a nation of people that can’t think properly
The take home message is that the type of people you send to investigate crime matter a lot. You send people of no integrity or low moral character, criminals will bribe them and the whole case collapses or they will out rightly steal the recovered assets. Police and law enforcement wings need to dissolve their investigative departments and reconstitute them with people of integrity who are also competent. There certain characters you can never bribe. The would rather die doing right things. If they pick lost money in millions, they return it to the owner. They are rare but can be head hunted.
@tikki,
It appears so, same observation here too. And you will NOT change them no matter how you prove to them that NIGHT is Dark and DAY is LIGHT, they will still…..
On a seroius note: Well done Magistrate Makalicha, for speaking out loudly. Such cases smell corruption !! It’s like, we will take you to court if you don’t pay us, and the man refuses to pay. And because they did not have evidence, the only thing is to withdraw.
Extent of the damage by the old regime is huge, and it will take time and effort, before we see results. The call by the new GRZ for Security forces to have evidence before arresting, should be encouraged, will take sometime though.
ZP For you. Assault cases are supposed to be handled by the courts. But the police will do everything to convince the victim that going to court will not benefit him. Eventually the victim accepts a cash settlement. This cash must be paid at the CID office of the police station. What happens there is everyone’s guess.
Ayatollah………..here is my handshake
If it was in PF govt you are going to call this corruption! You see, I keep saying that the English taught us that the word “Corruption” has only one meaning, whether it is practiced by those in power today or was done by those who were in power yesterday. I urge this vindictive IG to thoroughly investigate this case because it smells corruption. You stood on an anti-hill and told us that the lawyer had stolen US $800,000 which was entrusted in his care but today you have grown cold feet to give evidence in court. Have you been given money to shut up? Or the evidence you had which caused you to take the matter court has withered?
Thank you Magistrate Makalicha for telling off these chaps. Don’t waste the court’s time. There are a lot innocent inmates who are still waiting for these…
My understanding of this case is that engineer whose cash was missing withdrew the case citing his religion as a Christian. Even as a Christian, I wouldn’t forgive a suspect who had stolen my hard earned 800000usd cash. Agreed with most bloggers and the judge. Something is amiss. Settled out of court and taken to the courts for cleansing.
I told you the corruption under your tribal demi-god was going to multiply a ten-fold. They are not even in power for 6 months and corruption has increased.
And for those crying out that I insulted that b**ch Nellie, don’t you know that she ised to be my sidekick? Besides I am Kaizer, the all powerful man, I can insult anyone I want, even my own mother.
I told you the corruption under your trib@l demi-g0d was going to multiply a ten-fold. They are not even in power for 6 months yet and corruption has increased this much.
And for those crying out that I insulted that b**c Nellie, don’t you know that she used to be my sidekick girlfriend? Besides I am Kaizer, the all powerful man, I can insult anyone I want, even my own m0th£r.
#10 Patriotic Zambian.. Bakolwe basekana ifi Pato.
Jail is for the poor.
The accused persons have probably agreed to compensate the accuser with cash if he agrees in turn to withdraw the charges which obviously he would seeing that that’s where his benefit lies and not in sending the accused to jail.
Arrest Hamoonga
H²’s u5 kids play. H²’s kind’a rule of law.
Evidenceless prosecution. Trial and error kids gloves persecutionary Prosecutions.
The police should have dug deep into the source of the alleged monies like, how much was in the accused individuals accounts( both bank and in hand)?. Did he investigative wings look at bothLedger accounts of both parties re’Contra Entries’?; Did the investigative wings look at the law re ‘Money Laundering’? If large amounts of monies are not kept in contact he banks for such a long time, can this be a Pretty-meditated crime’ requiring conviction on ‘Circumstantial’ ;evidence?; But if indeed a large amount of money was allegedly picked by the with consent by the owner, was there any written documents to support this? What if the owner of the said monies was threatened to retract or not offer statements, how did the prosecution team not convict on circumstantial evidence? Is the state…