Tuesday, May 21, 2024

Bowman earned close to K6 million as Minister-State witnesses

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Two state witnesses have told the Lusaka Magistrate Court that Former Provincial Minister Bowman Lusambo earned over K5.8 million from 2016 to 2021 when he served as Minister.

Testifying in the matter in which Mr Lusambo and his wife Nancy have been charged with the Offence of Possession of Property suspected to be proceeds of crime, the witnesses told Magistrate Faides Hamaundu that Mr. Lusambo earned the funds through his salaries.

The ACC is prosecuting Mr. Lusambo and his wife for allegedly buying three houses in Silverest valued around US$ 150,000

Morgan Mwanza, aged 44 and a Senior Accountant at the Ministry of Finance said Mr. Lusambo’s pay slips from 2016 to 2021 showed that he received K5,52,318.99 as Gross Salary with another K1 million as travel benefit allowance.

Mr. Mwanza said Mr. Lusambo further earned another K1.2 million as Household Loan and K170,000 as Settling In Allowance.

He said the total Net Earnings during the said period is around K3.8 million.

Gross salary-5 million, 52,000, 318.99
Net-2 million, 546, 359.64

And another Senior Accountant from the National Assembly told the Court that Mr. Lusambo was paid over K2 million as a salary over the same period as a Member of Parliament.

But when pressed further by a Defence lawyer, the two witnesses admitted that their payment schedule brought before court was not comprehensive.

The witness from National Assembly admitted that her testimony did not include payments made between September-December 2021 when he served as MP for Kabushi.

The matter has since been adjourned to 12th January 2024 and 12th February 2024 for mention and 20th and 24th February 2024 for continuation of trial.

23 COMMENTS

  1. Already too many loopholes in testimonies.
    Unless Lusambo is dumb, a clever person will simply say the difference between his official earnings and the alleged criminally acquired wealth is due to private undertakings… maybe only ZRA will have a case against him.

    • It’s downright naive to think that this is all the witnesses said in court. Legally-earned money passes through a bank account on its way to paying for an expensive asset. These payments were over a number of years and also covered living expenses and servicing the National Assembly motor vehicle loan facility.

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    • @Gunner in Zambia: As @Deja Vu said, the numbers are not adding up. There is no scheme in which the salary he got as a minister can support his wealth, especially not one based on depositing the money in a bank account. The bugger stole. It is that simple. Look, there are many things that cannot be support by rational economics.

  2. Clever or a Dumb A*ss our investigative teams are severely lacking in all respects and cant even handle the elementary cases so yes he will be a lucky fella

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  3. The most important comment is probably that USD 150,000 is today 3.6m Kwacha but he earned double that -6m Kwacha in traceable income. What about his private investments? Where then are the proceeds of crime? So we are prosecuting someone for acquiring property half his earnings? We are such a joke as a country. This poverty mentality is what helps foreigners thrive here while we wallow in poverty.

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    • His net earnings are below the value of the property. There will be normal expenses to be deducted from that so what you have at the end of the day he has very little disposable income to afford the property. He will have to prove his external sources of income that he used to buy property.

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    • @Muna is this property fully paid for? Or is it under mortgage -partly or fully? With his total net earnings being 3.8 million it seems he can explain away his ownership. Remember once you have one property it makes life easier as it works as collateral for the next loan-besides you being a blue-eyed boy of the President.

  4. This is what happens When you have a villager from bweeengu as president who thinks only he can be rich. Hh neembwa! Wasting tax payers money fighting childish cases. In 2026 when we back in power hh will account for all money spent on govt lawyers

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  5. But uyu muntu waku Community azativuta ayi? Is he the only one ordained to be rich in Zambia? Now he has moved to harassing the biggest artist in Zambia Yo Maps just for a LC200 modified Landcruiser to LC300.
    Mwe Lesa why didn’t you frustrate him in 2021 elections?

    • That Seer 1 has advised Yo-Maps to relocate to Nigeria. There he will become a millionaire and nobody will pay attention.

  6. Eulogizing spirit of poverty in the nation. People are even scared of disclosing their hard earned wealth because someone somewhere will label them proceeds of crime.We have become a state that embraces poverty as a way of living. It has become a sin to own wealth in our own nation. The only people who are supposed to own wealth are owners of mines who cannot contribute to tax national basket.

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    • You can own wealth………..

      But not stolen wealth…………

      What is wrong with showing your wealth is honest wealth ???

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    • Yeah bo Spaka “What is wrong with HH showing us his wealth is honest wealth ???” Why cant he make open declarations?

    • HH can account for every penny he has………….

      FYI……….

      The president is setting up the empty PF tins for a sucker punch………

      They will cry loudest for him to declare his assets during election time………

      Then he will publish his assets, scoring a free sucker punch……

    • HH can account for every penny he has………….

      FYI……….

      The president is setting up the empty PF tins for a dummy punch………

      They will cry loudest for him to declare his assets during election time………

      Then he will publish his assets, scoring a free dummy punch……

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  7. @mutulangoma, ZRZ offered a moratorium to clear all vehicles that came into the country without tax clearance as was the practice by all PF cadres. Many PF cadres ignored this call by ZRA as they suspected tax invaders were expected to pay millions of Kwacha on those cars. When the moratorium lapsed they were stuck with those big land cruisers, VXs, land cruisers LC 300 etc. These vehicles can not drive on Zambian roads without RATSA clearance nor can they sell them or even donate or give them as gifts. They need Ratsa clearance. Sorry, Yo Maps is innocent but whoever gave him that vehicle needed it cleared by Ratsa as it may be proceeds from criminal activates. PF baked the cake, others have to taste it, if its tasty.

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  8. I do not see how HH’s name is dragged into such matters. This purely a Police matter. The President does not take cases into courts. The problem I see is that we have many cadres recruited in the past who are not competent and are failing to prosecute simple cases efficiently.

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    • He’s controlling everything. For me even when a sewer is blocked, I will point at him… the fish starts rotting from the head.

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