By Mwaka Ndawa
ANTI-CORRUPTION Commission investigations officer Christopher Siwakwi has told the Lusaka Magistrates’ Court that he lost the zeal to execute his mandate after he was belittled by Amos Chanda’s wife, who called him a grade 12 failure.
This is in a matter where Chanda, a former special assistant to the president for press and public relations, his wife Mable Nakaundi and sister in-law Ruth Nakaundi are facing charges of using insulting language against officers of the Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) and obstructing the law enforcement officers from performing their duty.
It is alleged that the trio on October 27, 2021 uttered derogatory words against ACC officers, an act which provoked them and would have caused them to breach peace or caused them to make an offense and blocked the officers from searching their properties.
Testifying before chief resident magistrate Dominic Makalicha, Siwakwi said prior to conducting the search at Chanda’s premises in the State Lodge area, he noticed the media had camped at the gate.
He said when he asked the media about their presence during such an operation, one of the journalists informed him that Chanda had invited them to witness the said operation.
“I told them that they were not welcome as they would jeopardise our investigations,” Siwakwi said.
“When Mr Chanda arrived at the property, he attempted to access the premises with the the premises with the journalists but we told them that they could not come in and he used demeaning words such as idiots, criminals and said we were corrupt in full view of journalists. I felt very bad because the video went viral on social media and it was embarrassing to me and my family.”
Siwakwi told the court that when the investigations team proceeded to conduct another search at Chanda’s home on Elm Street in Woodlands area, the accused requested that he conducts a body search on the officers.
“Whilst he was searching me, I told him I only had my wallet in my pockets and he said ‘I don’t want your fucking money’. After he searched us, he then took us to the second house which he claimed was his as he did not know the owners of the first house,” Siwakwi said.
“Whilst searching his house, his wife issued demeaning words that I am a grade 12 failure and I am poorly paid. I felt very bad such that I almost lost focus on the search.”