By Mwaka Ndawa
AN investigations officer at the Anti-Corruption Commission has told the Lusaka Magistrates’ Court that former special assistant to the president for press and public relations Amos Chanda called him an idiot and labelled officers from the Commission as crooks.
This is in a matter where Chanda, 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 law enforcement officers from performing their duty.
It is alleged that the trio, on October 27, 2021 uttered derogatory remarks against ACC officers, an act which provoked them and would have caused them to breach peace or caused them to make an offence and blocked the officers from searching their properties.
Testifying before Lusaka chief resident magistrate Dominic Makalicha, Swithern Lusaka said during a search at Chanda’s farm in Njolwe, Chongwe, the latter became insolent and uncooperative after he was prevented from accessing his premises in the company of journalists.
“Whilst addressing the journalists, Mr Amos Chanda called me an idiot conducting an illegal search. He further went on to call us (officers) criminals and that we were corrupt. And immediately after the search we would be calling him (Chanda) asking for bribes,” Lusaka narrated. “I stood at the gate and Mr Chanda told journalists that I was hiding my face and that’s how criminals behave. I felt disrespected and I could not understand why I was a recipient of personal attack. My intelligence was questioned, which for me was demeaning as I am a qualified officer of the Commission.”
Lusaka said he was mad at Chanda for being abusive but was composed and restrained himself from taking any action against the latter as the media had their cameras and recorders on.
He said whilst manning Chanda’s other properties on Elm Road in Kabulonga with his colleague, Ruth stormed the premises and when he asked her to identify herself, she called him a ‘little idiot’.
“She came back and said chi* whilst raising the middle finger at us. To my knowledge the word means testicles. I felt insulted especially that the word chi* refers to a man’s testicles and such words were coming from a woman. William Chilufya attempted to go after her, I noticed he was angry and I restrained him,” Lusaka said.
He said he later joined the investigations team and entered into one of the houses which was being searched by Paul Hatakwati.
Lusaka said Ruth asked the officers what they wanted but they did not respond to her and she further uttered derogatory marks.
“She said I know you want your pants because that’s where you have left amakandi, which is the white stuff that forms part of the foreskin of a man’s penis,” submitted Lusaka. “This was coming from a woman; I felt my job was not worth it because I didn’t expect that we would be insulted. I expected everyone to be cooperative.”
In cross examination, Lusaka was asked if he would be glad to see Chanda jailed and he responded that it was the duty of the court to jail the accused or free him.
Lusaka said he only wanted justice to prevail in the matter.
And Oscar Phiri, a journalist at Crown TV, affirmed that Chanda referred to one of the ACC officers as idiots.
“The officers denied Chanda to enter his premises with reporters. He then started talking to the media, expressing displeasure over the misconduct of the ACC officers. He (Chanda) said I was calling one of these idiots, meaning the ACC,” said Phiri.
In cross examination, Phiri was asked if anything was recovered from any of Chanda’s premises and he said Chanda had informed the media that K95,000 cash was seized from his tenant Bernadette Deka.
Earlier, the court declined to abandon the proceedings based on Chanda’s earlier submission that the ACC officers were compromised.
Magistrate Makalicha said Chanda’s application was premature as it was not immoral for Anti-Corruption Commission officers to testify in a case being prosecuted by the Commission.
He said the immunity of the law enforcement officers did not bar them from testifying in court on any issue that injured them during the execution of their mandate.
At the last sitting, Chanda’s lawyer Timmy Munalula made an application to have the matter dismissed in line with section 6(1)(b) 1and 2, 17(2) of the ACC Act as he was of the view that the mandate of the ACC lied strongly on corruption related cases.
“Section(1)(b) 1 and 2 suggests that the ACC can seek or receive complaints about corruption and prosecute offenses under the Act. The officers, prosecutors and witnesses come from one institution and it is an assassination of the rules of natural justice,” Munalula submitted.
He claimed that the accused were taken to court without investigation.
Munalula added that section 17(2) precluded ACC officers from testifying in the matter and asked the court to determine whether or not the witnesses were competent to give evidence before court.
Munalula asked whether or not the immunity of the officers was being infringed on by ACC.
In response, ACC prosecutor Martin Maemba said section 6(1)(b) was clear in relation to the functions of the Commission.
He said the application was misconstrued, and wondered how the officers would prove that they were insulted and obstructed by the accused if they did not testify in the matter.
Maemba submitted that the application should be dismissed.
And Daniel Ngwira said there was no assassination of the rules of natural justice because the complainants were not judges and the accused had not been condemned unheard.
He said the application was farfetched and the suggestion that the prosecutors were the complainants was unfounded because the complainants were the people.
Ruling on the matter, magistrate Makalicha said officers of the ACC were allowed to prosecute offences that were not enshrined in the ACC Act but in the Penal Code.
“Nothing precludes them (ACC officers) from prosecuting the matter as the law allows it. Immunity of staff does not bar them from testifying in court on any issue that injured them in the exercise of their duty,” said magistrate Makalicha.
“ACC officers have been called to testify in court and there has been no problem with that. The officers who were insulted are the best persons to testify in court. The officers are witnesses and prosecutors, but they are not complainants but the people of Zambia.”
Trial continues on January 19.