A forty one year old female accountant has pleaded not guilty to sixteen counts of theft and forgery of over hundred million kwacha and over sixteen thousand us dollars.

Exhildah Mutekenya is alleged to have stolen the said resources from her employer our lady’s hospices between May 14th 2009 and December 4th 2009.

She is alleged to have forged two cheques and a receipt which purported to show that they were genuinely obtained and signed for by relevant authorities.

The cheques are in amounts totaling forty five million kwacha and the receipt is totaling twenty million kwacha.

Ms. Mutekenya who appeared before Lusaka resident magistrate, Wilfred Muma, also pleaded not guilty to two counts of altering the two cheques she is alleged to have forged to one, Kemma Kandepu.
[ MUVI ]

Nazarias Mbewe who was a chief pay master at Kaoma’s Luena Barracks has been jailed for five years with hard labor while two other officers Crispin Nyirongo and Willy Mbukwana have been slapped with a four year jail sentence.

The trio who was jointly charged with two others, Benedict Chankanga and Ganizani Goma who were yesterday acquitted, are alleged to have stolen the said resources from the Public pensions fund.

The said money was deposited into Nazaria Mbewe’s account on pretext that it was his retirement package when in fact he was dismissed after being convicted of other criminal charges.

And in passing sentence Lusaka resident magistrate Exonobet Zulu said he had heard all that the convicts had said in their mitigation.

Magistrate Zulu, however, noted that while it is a fact that Mr. Mbewe served in the Zambian army for thirty four years, what matters is his service rendered to the army.

He said it is of no benefit if in his 34 years of service he stole tax payers’ money.

And Magistrate Zulu has further ordered the three convicted officials to pay back the three hundred and twenty six million kwacha they are alleged to have stolen.
[ MUVI ]

Some civil society organisations (CSOs) working with opposition political parties have launched a campaign to discredit the outcome of the 2011 presidential and general elections and psyche Zambians to reject the results if the MMD won the polls, it has been learnt.

Former Patriotic Front (PF) secretary general Charles Chimumbwa said the continued allegations on radio stations by the known CSOs was part of the campaign.

Mr. Chimumbwa, who is also former Nchanga PF member of Parliament, said the organisations wanted to rally support for the collapsed alliance involving PF and the United Party for National Development (UPND).

He said the CSOs wanted supporters of the two political parties to reject the results if they would be in favour of the ruling party.
[pullquote]“The motive behind this trick is to make people lose faith in the commission and once this happens, the people will not accept the results that will be announced.

“This will be the genesis of the revolution against the MMD Government,” Mr Chimumbwa said.[/pullquote]
Mr. Chimumbwa said the campaign involved attacking the credibility of the Electoral Commission of Zambia (ECZ) by claiming that the commission would rig the elections in favour of the ruling party.

He said the CSOs had taken advantage of the situation at the ECZ where former chairperson Florence Mumba resigned her position following protests by workers over a K1 billion contract awarded to KPMG to audit the commission.

“We urge our leaders not to listen to these CSOs that have turned into prophets of doom, lying that the elections will be rigged or have already been rigged,” Mr Chimumbwa said.

He said PF leader Michael Sata was a failed politician and urged Zambians who had not yet registered as voters to go ahead and register because the rumours about rigging were unfounded.

Mr. Chimumbwa said President Rupiah Banda was the right person to run Zambia to help consolidate the economic gains so far recorded.

He said there had been attempts to create an impression that the recent confusion at ECZ was fuelled by the ruling party.

“The motive behind this trick is to make people lose faith in the commission and once this happens, the people will not accept the results that will be announced.

“This will be the genesis of the revolution against the MMD Government,” Mr Chimumbwa said.

He called on the law enforcement agencies to ensure those involved in such clandestine activities were brought to book.

[ Times of Zambia ]

United Party for National Development leader Hakainde Hichilema has said there is need for his party and its pact partners the Patriotic Front to agree on how they intend to develop the nation when voted into government before jostling for positions in the pact.

Mr. Hichilema told QFM news in an interview that the two political parties need to agree on governance issues and how they will work towards improving the living standards of the Zambians when in government.

Mr. Hichilema added that the two parties need to commit themselves to work on a constitution that will among other things address the 50 plus 1 and the presidential running mate clause.

He said the pact also needed to indicate that it will also work towards liberating the judiciary so as to improve the dispensation of justice in the country.

Mr. Hichilema noted that his party had written to its pact partner the PF on the need to convene and agree on all the pertinent issues affecting the nation.

And Mr. Hichilema has clarified that according to the memorandum of understanding signed when the pact was formed; the two political parties are free to campaign as single entities.

The opposition leader said the formation of the pact was based on issues of national interest and that its existence does not in any way take away the legitimacy of the individual political parties.

Mr. Hichilema added that despite a few misunderstandings the pact is still valid and hoped that the PF will respond in good time to UPND’s request for the two parties to meet and address issues affecting the pact.

He was reacting to media reports that the pact’s existence had vanished following the revelations that the two parties had embarked on separate campaign tours.

QFM

By LusakaTimes
Government has condemned PF leader Michael Sata’s conduct at chief Mporokoso’s palace in Northern Province where he is alleged to have harassed the chief’s retainers.

And the Zambia Daily Mail has demanded an apology from Mr. Sata and payment of K5 billion for damages for storming into the newsroom during an editorial meeting yesterday.

In a statement released today, Information and broadcasting minister Lt. General Ronnie Shikapwasha said Mr. Sata’s blatant disrespect for the traditional ruler to openly quarrel with his retainers at the
palace was unacceptable.

Lt. General Shikapwasha who is also chief government spokesperson said the Zambian society was premissed on traditional rulers as custodians of norms and values.

He described Mr. Sata’s reported outbursts at the chief’s palace and at the Zambia Daily Mail where he is also said to have stormed into the editorial meeting as unbecoming.

Meanwhile the Zambia Daily Mail has demanded an apology from Mr. Sata and payments of K5 billion for damages.

George Zulu the corporate director at Zambia Daily Mail said Mr. Sata issued threats at management and reporters and stressed that it was not the first time that the opposition leader was storming into the
newspaper’s editorial meeting and disrupting business.

Government has abolished Academic Production Unit (APU) classes.

This means all pupils that were under the programme will be incorporated in the main education system.
Education Minister Dora Siliya said that the APU classes have been abolished because Government has built more schools to accommodate the pupils.

Ms. Siliya said that government has put up massive school infrastructure to increase access to schools by pupils.
And Ms Siliya has warned Head teachers against forcing pupils to pay tuition fees when they want to rewrite examinations.

She was speaking when she addressed teachers in Mumbwa district on Tuesday.
And Central Province Education Officer Paul Ngoma said all pupils who were under APU system will have to pay normal tuition fees.

Mr. Ngoma said all pupils will pay uniform and tuition fees.

APU classes were introduced as way of accommodating pupils who could not enter the main stream education system owing to inadequate infrastructure.

But Government has rolled out a massive infrastructure development programme which has seen new schools constructed and old ones upgraded.
[ ZNBC ]

Police on the Copperbelt have arrested two opposition Patriotic Front Councilors at the Chingola Municipal Council for alleged illegal allocation of land.

Copperbelt Police Commanding Officer Martin Malama confirmed the arrest of the two councilors to ZNBC in Kitwe on Tuesday.

Dr. Malama says one of the councilors who is detained at Chingola Central Police station is alleged to have sold a plot to a Chingola resident at fifteen-million-Kwacha but it was later discovered that the plot belonged to someone else.

Another councilor allegedly obtained a motor vehicle valued at fifty-million-Kwacha in exchange for a plot which did not belong to him and had already been developed.

Dr. Malama said police will investigate the two cases professionally.

Recently the ministry of Local Government suspended the Lusaka city council for alleged illegal allocation of plots.

The Anti Corruption Commission -ACC- has since instituted investigations into the matter.
[ ZNBC ]

The Kitwe High Court has sent to jail a 32-year-old man to three years imprisonment with hard labour for killing his mother who was in a habit of seducing him.

High Court jJudge Judith Mulongoti sent Tiza Nkhoma of B5 Mindolo Township to jail for killing his mother, Elizabeth Nkhoma on May 18 last year.

Nkhoma was earlier charged with murder but the court acquitted him and instead convicted him of manslaughter because there were extenuating circumstances that led to the offence.

In her judgment, Ms Justice Mulongoti said based on the facts and evidence before her, she was inclined to find that the accused was provoked to an extent that he lost his self-control.

She said a reasonable man in the same situation as the accused found himself would have reacted the same way, and that on the totality of the evidence, the defence of provocation succeeded.

According to the evidence in court, the deceased was in the habit of undressing herself before her son and enticing him to have sex with her.

On the fateful day, the deceased undressed herself thrice and made her son beat her up so that she could stop her bad habits.

The deceased was later found in a pool of blood and taken to a hospital where she was pronounced dead.

The court heard that after beating his mother, Nkhoma locked himself in the bathroom where he wept and was later apprehended and taken to a police station.

He explained to the police that his mother’s behaviour hurt him and that he thought she wanted to bewitch him because of her actions.

Nkhoma told the court that he did not intend to kill his mother and asked for forgiveness because he was angry.

In another court, a 72-year-old farmer was sentenced to 15 years imprisonment for defiling a 13-year-old girl.

High Court judge Isaac Kamwendo sent to jail Nickson Mwansa, who was caught defiling the girl.
[ Times of Zambia ]

THE Government has unearthed a plot involving Frank Bwalya’s Change Life Zambia (CLZ) and other non-governmental organisations (NGOs) directors who have been holding secret meetings to discuss the possibility of moving more than US$45 million into the country to incite political unrest.

Lands Deputy Minister Michael Mabenga told journalists at his office in Lusaka yesterday that the Government was also aware that Father Bwalya was working with directors of Anti-Rigging and together they had linked themselves to the Patriotic Front (PF), an indication that their motives as NGOs were evil.

“The Government has classified information about all of the meetings as well as plans and their motives to destabilise the country.

“We are not sleeping, we are aware of all the dealings and happenings involving Fr Bwalya and his colleagues. Let them deny this then we shall show the evidence of these meetings dubbed kitchen meetings,” Mr Mabenga said.

He said the unfortunate thing was that the named NGOs wanted to source money to be used to incite people into civil disobedience.

Mr Mabenga described the motives as evil, especially that those involved were aware that they were planning to commit a crime.
[pullquote]“The Government has classified information about all of the meetings as well as plans and their motives to destabilise the country.

“We are not sleeping, we are aware of all the dealings and happenings involving Fr Bwalya and his colleagues. Let them deny this then we shall show the evidence of these meetings dubbed kitchen meetings,” Mr Mabenga said.[/pullquote]

He accused Fr Bwalya of being behind the scheming of violence in the country and said it was sad that a person calling himself a priest had decided to use the NGO to champion his own selfish agendas.

“This group consists of some lawyers who represent Fr Bwalya as well PF leader Michael Sata and bank personnel who have vowed not to rest until they get rid of our President Rupiah Banda.

“We are aware that they have been meeting at some law firm in Bwinjimfumu Road and along Leopards Hill Road to strategise their campaign gimmicks using civil unrest once the $45 million is moved into the country. We are, however, warning them, let them tread cautiously,” he said.

Mr Mabenga said President Banda had been preaching peace in Zambia, especially that the country is scheduled to hold elections this year and wondered why Fr Bwalya and his allies had found it necessary to agitate for violence.

He said Fr Bwalya did not deserve to be called a Catholic Father because he had done all the wrongs a priest would not do.
[ Times of Zambia ]

THE Patriotic Front (PF) has resolved to pull out of the pact with the United Party for National Development (UPND) although it is afraid of informing Zambians, some PF sources have said.

The sources said in Lusaka yesterday that the PF leadership did not want to shoulder any blame for the collapse of the pact despite being convinced that the two parties could not work together.

The party officials, who withheld their identities, said an emergency meeting called by the PF top leadership last week agreed that the alliance with UPND was not workable.

They said party leader Michael Sata, who was in Luapula Province at the time, had given a go-ahead to the meeting where those in attendance were told that the PF president had even instructed secretary general Wynter Kabimba not to respond to concerns raised by the UPND over the need for the two parties to harmonise economic and governance issues.

“Those that attended the meeting were also told that Mr Kabimba had been instructed not to respond to the so-called ultimatum by the UPND because the PF does not need the UPND and would go it alone given the margin by which Mr Sata lost in the last elections.

“At this same meeting, PF members were told that this is the reason why Mr Sata has shifted attention from the UPND and has now started calling upon other opposition political parties to gang up with the PF,” the sources said.

Forum for Leadership Search executive director Edwin Lifwekelo said he was aware of the PF meeting at which it was resolved that the pact was going nowhere.
[pullquote]“Those that attended the meeting were also told that Mr Kabimba had been instructed not to respond to the so-called ultimatum by the UPND because the PF does not need the UPND and would go it alone given the margin by which Mr Sata lost in the last elections.

“At this same meeting, PF members were told that this is the reason why Mr Sata has shifted attention from the UPND and has now started calling upon other opposition political parties to gang up with the PF,” the sources said.[/pullquote]
Mr Lifwekelo, a former secretary general of the PF, said in Lusaka yesterday that he had information that the opposition party had a meeting last week at which it was agreed that they should discontinue with the pact and instead focus on promoting the PF.

According to Mr Lifwekelo, the irregular land allocation by PF councillors at Lusaka City Council was also discussed.

He challenged Mr Sata to tell the nation why he had never bothered to address any rally with UPND president Hakainde Hichilema if the pact was in force.

But when contacted for comment, Mr Sata said Mr Lifwekelo was lying.

“First of all who is Edwin Lifwekelo? Tell Mr Lifwekelo that the pact is none of his business, he is lying,” Mr Sata said.

UPND spokesperson Charles Kakoma said the party had not yet received official communication from the PF on its position.

“The resolutions of that meeting have not yet been communicated to us and it will be premature for us to make a comprehensive comment on the matter,” Mr Kakoma said.

Asked whether his party still considered the pact as being intact, Mr Kakoma said “the pact has not been officially dissolved. Until it is officially dissolved or one of the parties pulls out, we take it we are still working together.”

[ Times of Zambia ]