LUSAMBO FUMES AT ACC’s DECISION TO JOINTLY CHARGE HIM WITH WIFE
Bowman Lusambo fumed during a court hearing as he protested the Anti-Corruption Commission’s decision to arrest his wife and jointly charged her with him.
“My emotions are very high,” Lusambo said, as his lawyer Likando Kalaluka asked him to calm down.
“There was no transaction between my wife and the seller I did the transaction myself I was very shocked that ACC interviewed my wife and arrested her for nothing. Literally nothing. As the owner of the property, I have the right to put the property or properties in the names of my choice and in this case, I told the Chinese lady that you can put some of the properties in my wife’s name,” he said.
In his defense before magistrate Faidess Hamaundu, Lusambo said he paid for the houses hence, he was shocked and taken aback by ACC’s decision to arrest his other half.
“The entire information which was and is still there in white and black is that I, Bowman Chilosha Lusambo, I have an agreement with Henan Gouji ZDA company to purchase four properties and two I have paid for. I can say A2, was wrongly arrested vans she is wrongly in this court.
“After the state closed their case, I started putting up documents to support my defence. And top of the agenda was to clarify the wrong arresting of my wife by ACC. I just wanted to reaffirm my ealier submission that the transaction between me and Silverrest Gardens, I had no agent. I dealt and am still dealing with them directly,” Lusambo said.
He said he expressed shock when a State witness claimed that he was paid K115,645.59 when he served as provincial minister between 2018 and 2021 and he thought the government representative was dreaming, when he mentioned such figures.
“As the minister for the province, I was entitled to an outside station allowance from 2018 to 2021 as a minister of Lusaka, so I was taken aback by this officer that instead of setting the facts right, he came to mislead the court,” Lusambo said.
“This is not the correct figure and the witness failed to show court the correct figure. That’s why we will call the permanent secretary who was in charge of my salaries. As minister, I participated in many activities and payments were made.”
Lusambo said the statement by Nalishebo Mvula that he received K371,182.48 for fuel allowances, cabinet meetings and other parliamentary activities, was misleading.
“If we calculate from the time I was appointed as Copperbelt Minister, this amount will double. To that effect, we will call the permanent secretary who was in charge of my file at Copperbelt Administration to speak to my payments from 2016 to 2018,” Lusambo explained.
He said the property in Masaiti on the Copperbelt province, was given to him in 2017 by the ministry of lands and he paid K5, 000 for title to be given to him.
He said he later sold the property to BM motors.
In relation to the charge of corrupt acquisition of public property, Lusambo said he is not a director of Frontier Management Services Limited, nor a shareholder.
He said Z-mart proprietor Gignish Soni is his friend and he has known him for 25 years.
Lusambo said Soni introduced him to Jack Mwanza who was selling the land at K2.2 million and Soni lend him K880,000 to pay for a car he intended to buy.
“I borrowed the K880,000 that I will pay back because I needed to secure a car and I secured that car. Because when we were discussing, the car was in South Africa,”he said.
Lusambo told the Court that he was shocked when he was charged for possessing property suspected to be proceeds of crime in relation to the money he borrowed to buy a car.
“I was very shocked because there was no crime committed anywhere concerning the K880,000. If the crime was committed I was supposed to be arrested then or reported for the K880,000,”Lusambo said.
“The transaction was a genuine transaction. Government through ministry of lands gave land to Jackson Mwanza and this land was sold to Gignish and Gigu produced the money. So, we don’t know where the crime was committed and who committed that crime.”
Lusambo denied honoring tax obligations in the amount of US$150,000 claiming Mbachi Nkwazi paid for property transfer tax and so did Lombe Bwalya.
He also denied having conspired to defraud the Masaiti council K250,000 premium fee, causing the ministry of lands to issue title in his name for the Masaiti property.
“When this charge was read to me by ACC, I was shocked by the way they used conspiracy. How can I do that by myself? There is no other person who was charged by this case under this court and the land in question, it was properly acquired thats why the premium of K5,000 was paid and Ministry of Lands issued the title to me and title can only be given once you have followed procedure,” Lusambo explained.
He said he did not commit any crime by acquiring houses in Silverest Gardens, saying he engaged in the business transactions alone, and his wife was innocent.
During cross examination by Daniel Ngwira, Lusambo confirmed that land can be allocated by the ministry of lands directly or through its agent which is the local government.
He said he was not aware of how land was allocated to Soni.
When asked if at all it is wrong for a minister to threaten civil servants with transfers if they don’t give him land, Lusambo responded in the affirmative saying it was very wrong.
He said never engaged in fraudulent land transfers.
When shown receipts for the four houses which bore his wife’s name, Lusambo said he did not give Nancy the $30, 000 to pay towards the purchase of the house.
He confirmed that according to the receipts paid US$55, 000 to Silverest gardens.
Asked his wife gave their jeep valued at $5,000 to Henan Gouji towards the payment of their houses, Lusambo confirmed.
When asked where his unemployed wife got the money to pay for the properties, Lusambo said he did not know where she got the dollars from.
Chawezi Nalwenga asked the former law maker if at all he had availed the court with documentation to prove that he was paid by G-TV, Lusambo responded in the negative.
When asked by Martin Mayembe to confirm whether he sold the property in Ndola before he was given title, Lusambo denied and pleaded with the Court for protection saying he was being threatened by Mayembe.
By Mwaka Ndawa
Kalemba