FORMER Taskforce on Corruption State prosecutor, Mutembo Nchito yesterday appeared before the Law Association of Zambia (LAZ) legal practitioners committee in connection with a complaint of legal impropriety raised by second Republican president, Frederick Chiluba.

Also summoned was Patriotic Front (PF) secretary general, Wynter Kabimba to answer charges of breaching provisions of the law following a complaint by former Health deputy minister, Solomon Musonda.

On the complaint against Mr Nchito, Dr Chiluba was represented by his administrative assistant Emmanuel Mwamba at the hearing that started at 10:00 hours at the LAZ offices.

LAZ heard the complaint against Mr Nchito for lodging an appeal against the acquittal of Dr Chiluba without consent from the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP).

The former Taskforce prosecutor refused to say anything, arguing that he could not defend himself because he was acting on behalf of the DPP.

The committee, however, directed Mr Nchito to make a submission which must be before the committee within 30 days.

The directive was extended to Mr Mwamba, who was representing Dr Chiluba. Mr Mwamba, who made the submission on behalf of the former president, justified why LAZ should discipline Mr Nchito.

Dr Chiluba had complained in a letter to LAZ dated August 27 last year over The Post newspaper story that stated that the State had appealed against the judgment entered in favour of the former president on August 17, 2009.

The story published details and grounds supporting the appeal and further reading showed that instructions to Mr Nchito sanctioning the appeal were written by former Taskforce on Corruption executive chairperson, Max Nkole and not the DPP.

It also emerged that the instructions that were dated August 21, 2009 were copied to the DPP, Chalwe Mchenga.

The DPP responded to the letter and refused to give consent to the appeal. Instead he advised Mr Nkole and Mr Nchito to give him the judgment to help decide whether the appeal was relevant.

“We are, therefore, surprised that an agent in Mr Nchito has blatantly usurped the constitutional powers of the DPP and proceeded to appeal in the case even in the face of clear cautionary instructions from the DPP,” Dr Chiluba said.

The judgment related to a case where Dr Chiluba was co-charged for offences of theft by public servant with former Access Financial Services directors, Faustin Kabwe and Aaron Chungu.

And according to summons drawn by LAZ administrative assistant Sipelile Mwilwa addressed to Mr Kabimba and Mr Nchito, Dr Musonda petitioned LAZ to take disciplinary action against the PF secretary general for allegedly violating the legal practitioners’ rules when he wrote the DPP that the Chitambo MP had been charged with a minor offence when the matter was already before the courts of law.

Dr Musonda has asked LAZ to investigate and punish Mr Kabimba for allegedly using expressions that he said would erode confidence in the country’s justice system.

He based his complaint on an article that appeared in The Post newspaper of June 22, 2010, which described the charge against the former minister as a mockery of justice.

The letter, which was copied to his lawyer, Sunday Nkonde of SBN Legal Practitioners, the president of LAZ and LAZ secretary, states that Mr Kabimba had breached rule number 32 of the legal practitioners practice rules of 2002 under statutory number 51.

[Times of Zambia]

The opposition UPND-PF PACT has decided to establish guidelines that will ensure that what happened in Chadiza and Kaoma does not happen again.

Pact co-spokesperson, Given Lubinda, told journalist at a press briefing this afternoon that the confusion that occurred in preparation for the Chadiza and Kaoma local government elections was due to lack of set of guidelines in place to help uphold the principles the pact was established on.

Mr. Lubinda said the pact has however learnt its lesson from the experience and has even decided to forward the matter to what is termed as the ‘Superior Committee’ which is co-chaired by the two party presidents.

He assured Zambians that according to the agreement that was reached at by the pact working group, it was not necessary to withdraw anyone from the committees who would have allowed the separate filing in to be done.

When queried on whether the matter had to be transferred to a superior body, Mr. Lubinda explained that the only reason the working group decided to make this particular move is to help those in the senior body to learn lessons from this matter.

The pact working group which underwent a serious 2 day meeting to resolve this matter and find solutions to the occurrence have directed that no one else will make any statements within the party about policy matter except the two co spokespersons.

It has also been resolved that the 9 committees of the pact immediately complete their reports and submit them to the working group within the next two weeks.

QFM

A man who raped a woman when he had advanced AIDS pleaded guilty Thursday in the middle of his trial, just as Dallas County prosecutors were wrapping up their case against him.

Nathaniel Tumbwe – who refers to himself as a doctor, a reverend and a Zambian prince – also pleaded guilty to a pending case for transmitting HIV to another woman during consensual sex while in a relationship.

Tumbwe, 47, also gave the virus to another woman, prosecutors said. None of the women knew he was HIV-positive when they had sex with him.

Tumbwe and prosecutors agreed to a 15-year sentence on each charge, with the terms to be served concurrently. He will be eligible for parole after serving half his sentence. Authorities will deport Tumbwe to Zambia when he is released.

Carolyn Hudson, 60, the woman Tumbwe raped, said in an interview after the trial that she agreed to the plea deal because he admitted his guilt in both cases, and because the other women were reluctant to testify if the trial reached the punishment phase.

“It sounded good,” Hudson said about the plea deal. “I knew that the other women did not want to testify even though they would have.”

Hudson said she hasn’t met the other women, who also approved of the deal.

“I would like to,” she said. “I would like to pray with her.”

The Dallas Morning News does not typically name victims of sex crimes, but Hudson asked that her name be published because she wants to show that she is not ashamed of what happened and wants to represent all his victims.

Hudson has not tested positive for HIV. She must be tested once a year for 10 years.

Tumbwe sexually assaulted Hudson in October 2008 at her Cedar Hill home when she invited him to dinner to discuss a ministry he wanted to begin. He had repeatedly asked her to marry him and for sex, but she had declined multiple times.

Hudson testified that she had been celibate in the 12 years since her divorce until the sexual assault. Hudson and Tumbwe were two of about 600 elders at Potter’s House, the megachurch in Dallas.

Tumbwe had faced up to 20 years in prison on the charge of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon for raping Hudson. He could have been sentenced to life in prison on the other charge, aggravated assault that caused serious bodily injury.

Prosecutors Josh Healy and Kate Pfeifle said the deadly weapon was Tumbwe’s penis and bodily fluid containing HIV.

Before Tumbwe pleaded guilty, he tried to persuade State District Judge Andy Chatham not to require him to verbally agree that he was pleading guilty.

“I can just lift up my hand,” he said to his defense attorneys, Michael Levin and Omar Nawaz. He also objected to a news camera recording his guilty plea.

Tumbwe’s reasoning? “I’m a prince in the country where I grew up,” he claimed. “Because of my royalty.”

But Chatham said Tumbwe had to answer verbally, and he allowed the camera in the courtroom.

“I’m not going to fudge it and say ‘close enough,’ ” the judge said.

Tumbwe eventually agreed to speak.

“Yes, your honor,” Tumbwe responded when Chatham asked if Tumbwe’s guilty plea was made freely.

After Tumbwe pleaded, Hudson took the witness stand to address Tumbwe in a victim impact statement. She wrote down what she wanted to tell him in advance, but ended up speaking without looking at her notebook.

“Mr. Tumbwe, not Rev. Dr. Tumbwe, not Rev. Dr. Prince Tumbwe,” she began. “Nathaniel Tumbwe, how dare you think you can take advantage of a woman, especially a Christian woman?”

Hudson repeatedly asked “how dare you?” and her voice grew louder and she spoke.

“You caused me considerable damage and pain,” she said. “Every Sunday, it’s in my mind. You caused me to question the church and the faith community.

By JENNIFER EMILY / The Dallas Morning News
[email protected]

SECOND Republican president, Frederick Chiluba has advised Zambians against voting for political parties without manifestos as doing so will only allow such leaders to manipulate them without initiating any development in the country.

And Dr Chiluba said the Patriotic Front (PF)-United Party for National Development (UPND) Pact had failed to hold because it was just a marriage of convenience between the two leaders.

Dr Chiluba said a manifesto was the only social contract between the voters and a political party upon which leaders should be held accountable for failure to fulfil their pre-election campaign.

Speaking in an exclusive interview in Ndola yesterday, Dr Chiluba advised voters in Chifubu Constituency to desist from voting for a political party without a manifesto in place.

He said Zambians should be alert and should not cast their votes anyhow.

“As the country heads towards elections, I would want to advise Zambians against voting for political parties without manifestos. Zambians should be alert, know the position of the political party they are voting for.

‘‘They should make sure they ask for the manifesto because it is only the contents of the manifesto which will enable them to hold politicians accountable once they depart from their pre-election campaign.

“I Know Zambians are so mature, especially that they have been in this for a long time and would not want to make a mistake. Leaders must be reminded that manifestos are social contracts which should not be departed from,” Dr Chiluba said.

He said political parties such as the opposition PF would not lead anybody without a manifesto in place.

“Voting for political parties without manifestos in place is what has caused the sufferings in most parts of the country where people were promised to have the economy improved within 90 days. They are now suffering because they cannot fall back on the manifesto to hold accountable those that issued such pre-election campaigns,” he said.

He said as the country headed towards elections, Zambians should follow a political party such as the ruling MMD which he said had a track record in the political, social and economic sectors.

Dr Chiluba said naturally when the country was headed towards an election, there were always people that took pride in distorting the situation but responsible citizens should ensure they followed the MMD because it was the only political party with a good track record.

Dr Chiluba commended President Rupiah Banda’s Government for the efforts it had made in improving the country’s economy.

He said the Zambian economy had been going through difficult times, especially after the global economic recession but it was impressive that the Government was doing everything possible to have it resuscitated.

He said following the improved economy, most Zambians, especially the youth, were now running businesses and there was customer sovereignty where people were able to choose a variety of goods.

The liberalised transport system which was introduced by the MMD Government, Dr Chiluba said, had given Zambians a wider choice of transport to use.

“Where we as Zambians are just looking forward is for the new mine owners to pay attention to the improvement of the environment in their areas of investment. They should take care of the infrastructure which has been dilapidated,” he said.

He condemned the culture of insults which some politicians had resorted to, in the name of freedom of speech.

The former president said the PF-UPND Pact had failed to hold because it was a marriage of convenience between the two leaders.

He said it was an understatement to say there were cracks in the pact because the truth of the matter was that there were major holes in the pact which no amount of soil would be able to fill.

“I knew the pact will never hold, it is even an understatement to state that there are cracks in the pact because what is there are major holes which no amount of soil will be able to fill. I personally did not even think this pact existed,” he said.

He said there were a lot of drainages in the pact because the two political parties had different ideological standings where the PF believed in a strategy of one party arrangement where elections were totally alien while running of the economy depended on the party’s decision with no clear direction.

[Times of Zambia]

Two civil society organizations have called on the Patriotic Pront (PF and the United Party for National Development (UPND) pact to expose the leader who will be contesting the 2011 elections.

Southern African center for constructive resolution of disputes SACCORD information officer Obby Chibuluma says that once the leaders is exposed, the cracks reported in the pact will be addressed.

He said that the pact risks losing its value if such issues are not addressed by the two leaders, Hakainde Hichilema and Michael sata.

Mr. Chibuluma said that the pact should solve its issues because Zambia needs a stronger opposition for the benefit of checks and balances.

He noted that if the opposition is weak, then government would have its own way in leading the nation.

Mr Chibuluma said it is important that the deadlock in the PF/UPND pact is resolved to ensure that the Zambia political atmosphere is balanced.

Mr. Chibuluma was speaking last evening on Public’s Last Say.

And speaking on the same programme, Citizens Forum executive Secretary Simon Kabanda said what is happening in the pact is disappointing to the people.

He observed that that the pact belongs tof Zambians, and the obtaining scenario is a great disappointment.

Mr. Kabanda has maintained that the only people that can solve the current challenges are the two leaders.
[ QFM ]