ARRESTING OFFICER, JOHN MULIMBA, FAILS TO PROVIDE EVIDENCE IN ZRA ASSET DISPOSAL CASE
By Court Reporter
10 February, 2025
John Mulimba failed to provide evidence in the case where former ZRA Commissioner General Dr. Kingsley Chanda and former Director Administration Calistus Kaoma are accused of not following procedure in the manner in which 22 ZRA obsolete vehicles were disposed off by the ZRA Board. Asked to point out which procedures in the policy the accused flouted, the arresting officer fumbled with the policy paper for some time before admitting that what he said didn’t exist in the policy.
Here is the verbatim of proceedings led by defense counsel James Mataliro:
Counsel: Confirm to this court that you simply took over this file from someone.
Arresting Officer: Yes
Counsel: What was the complaint?
Arresting Officer (Mulimba John): Not following procedure.
Counsel: Who complained?
Arresting Officer: the Commissioner General Mr. Dingani Banda.
Counsel: Did you produce the complaint before this court?
Arresting Officer: No.
Counsel – Did the complaint name the people who did not follow procedure?
Arresting Officer: No.
Counsel: At the time you took over, was the investigation done?
Arresting Officer: Yes.
Counsel: Who did the investigation?
Arresting Officer: other officers but later i joined the team
Counsel: According to your investigation, Dr. Chanda and Mr. Kaoma are the ones who did not follow procedure?
Arresting Officer: Yes.
Counsel: Are you aware that the Asset Disposal Policy (ADP) regulates the the Asset Disposal Committee (ADC) that disposes of assets?
Arresting Officer: Yes.
Counsel: The ADP guides the Asset Disposal Committee (ADC), correct?
Arresting Officer: Yes.
Counsel: Does it guide any other employee?
Arresting Officer: Yes.
Counsel: How does this policy guide a customs inspector based at Chirundu border?
Arresting Officer: in terms of purchasing of vehicles.
Counsel: this policy is not about purchasing it’s about asset disposal. Answer my question
Arresting Officer: I don’t know
(Counsel hands over the Asset Disposal Policy to the arresting officer.)
Counsel: Is that the document?
Arresting Officer: Yes.
Counsel: When was that policy implemented?
Arresting Officer: I don’t know.
Counsel: Are you aware of when ZRA started disposing of assets?
Arresting Officer: No.
Counsel: Did you investigate that part?
Arresting Officer: No.
Counsel: Did you investigate ZRA disposal of assets prior to 2017?
Arresting Officer: No.
Counsel: So you are not aware of who performed those transactions prior to 2017?
Arresting Officer: No.
Counsel: Did you investigate the impact of the Public Finance Management Act on ZRA’s disposal of assets?
Arresting Officer: No.
Counsel: Since you didn’t read the Public Finance Management Act, you don’t know the impact on the ZRA disposal policy?
Arresting Officer: No.
Counsel: Are you aware that ZRA policies are supposed to be approved by the governing board?
Arresting Officer: Yes.
Counsel: Did you find out from the Board Secretary if that draft was approved by the board?
Arresting Officer: No.
Counsel: So you don’t even know that the policy was approved?
Arresting Officer: No.
Counsel: Do you have board minutes approving the policy?
Arresting Officer: No.
Counsel: What documents did you personally collect?
Arresting Officer: The occurrence book and some gate passes.
Counsel: Do you know Suzgyo Ngandu?
Arresting Officer: Yes.
Counsel: Confirm she was the board secretary?
Arresting Officer:Yes.
Counsel: Did you interview her?
Arresting Officer: Yes.
Counsel: Did she give you the policy?
Arresting Officer: No.
(Counsel gives the witness the ZRA Asset Disposal Policy – 2002 with Board references)
Counsel: This was the approved policy. What is before the court was not approved by the board. It was a draft copy. Are you aware that approved board documents are only kept by the ZRA board secretary?
Arresting Officer: Yes.
Counsel: So you relied on a draft copy to conclude your investigation?
Arresting Officer: Yes.
Counsel: Who are the members of the committee?
Arresting Officer: The Transport & Security Manager, ICT Manager, Senior Financial Accountant, Administration Manager (Secretary), Director Administration, Deputy Commissioner Customs, and Finance Director
Counsel: Was the Commissioner General a member of the Asset Disposal Committee?
Arresting Officer: No
Counsel: Tell the court what procedure in the policy was flouted.
Arresting Officer: (starts flipping pages of the asset disposal policy)
Counsel: Mr. Mulimba if you don’t know just say you don’t know so that we don’t waste time. Ok fair enough.
You said item 6.2.5 of the policy says it’s an offense for a non ZRA person with a gate pass to collect a sold ZRA vehicle from ZRA yard?
Arresting Officer: that’s correct.
Counsel: Read that section of the policy loudly to this court.
Arresting Officer: (silence just glancing at the document)
Counsel: Should I repeat the question?
Arresting Officer: No. The policy doesn’t say so.
Counsel: So you lied?
Arresting Officer: (silence)
Counsel: So there is nothing wrong?
Arresting Officer: No, there is nothing wrong according to this policy.
Counsel: You talked about vehicles not being advertised. Look at the indictment and tell the court which vehicles were sold without being advertised.
Arresting Officer: I can only remember three of them.
Counsel: Please tell the court.
Arresting Officer: (Lists three vehicles: Toyota Hilux ABM8166, Pajero ABK6092, Toyota Hilux ALC9120, Toyota Hilux ALC9123.)
Counsel: Do you know who was responsible for advertising?
Arresting Officer: Yes. The administration manager Mr. Sitali Mulozi.
Counsel: Why did you blame the Commissioner General for this?
Arresting Officers: because he was the overall supervisor at ZRA.
Counsel: where you aware that the complainant Mr. Dingani Banda was in charge of the Asset Disposal Committee and that he was responsible for asset disposal?
Arresting officer: No.
Counsel: Did you interview him?
Arresting Officer: No.
Counsel: Who offered the vehicles to the employees who bought them?
Arresting Officer: Dr. Chanda and Mr. Kaoma.
Counsel: Do you have any evidence of that? Let us go vehicle by vehicle as listed in the indictment and tell the court who offered the vehicle and to who?
Arresting Officer: I can’t remember. (Goes silent.)
Counsel: Do you have any evidence?
Arresting Officer: No I don’t. I relied on statements in the file I was given.
Counsel: You said only ZRA employees are supposed to buy vehicles. On the indictment, tell this court which vehicles were sold to non-ZRA employees.
Arresting Officer: There were none. All vehicles were sold to ZRA employees.
Counsel: So you lied?
Arresting Officer: (No response.)
Counsel: You said all 22 vehicles were sold below the highest bidders. Tell the court who the highest bidders were and how much they bid.
Arresting Officer: I can’t remember.
Counsel: Mr. Mulozi told this court that the committee has discretion to offer any unsold vehicle to any other employee.
Arresting Officer: (No response.)
Counsel: Does the policy mention the office of the Commissioner General on internal disposal of assets?
Arresting Officer: No. just on internal rotary.
Counsel: Does the Commissioner General play any role in the internal tender process?
Arresting Officer: No.
Counsel: Is there anything in the procedures that prohibits ZRA employees from selling vehicles after purchasing?
Arresting Officer: No, there is nothing.
Counsel: After purchase, do you agree that the only responsibility ZRA had was to facilitate the change of ownership?
Arresting Officer: Correct.
Counsel: Did the Commissioner General have anything to do with the gate pass?
Arresting Officer: No.
Counsel: Did you look at Dr. Chanda’s contract of employment?
Arresting Officer: No.
Counsel: Did you look at the powers vested in the office of the Commissioner General?
Arresting Officer: No.
Counsel: Are you aware that the Commissioner General is a member of the Board?
Arresting Officer: Yes.
Counsel: Did you investigate the role of the Commissioner of Modernization Mr. Dingani Banda in asset disposal?
Arresting Officer: No.
Counsel: Did you find any report on any irregular disposal of assets in ZRA?
Arresting Officer: No.
Counsel: Did you find any board document questioning asset disposal?
Arresting Officer: No.
Counsel: What did you expect the Commissioner General to do?
Arresting Officer: To closely supervise the Committee.
Counsel: Are you aware that the Committee was under the Commissioner of Modernization the complainant?Arresting Officer: (No response.)
Counsel: Did you ever interview Dr. Chanda personally?
Arresting Officer: No. When he reported I just detained him and arrested him the following day.
Counsel: So you never even interviewed him?
Arresting Officer: I interviewed him verbally before arresting him.
Counsel: So based on the file you were given you already made up your mind. The man reported to the police you detained him and following day you talk to him verbally, charged and arrested him correct?
Arresting Officer: Yes.
Counsel: So when you detained him for 26 hours, did you conduct any investigations during that period?
Arresting Officer: No.
(Courtroom murmurs as the case adjourns to tomorrow 11 February 2025 at 09:00 hours for continued cross examination)