BEFORE TURKY TRIP, MALANJI’S ACCOUNTS WERE EMPTY, MUKELEBAI TELLS COURT
JOE Malanji’s company bank accounts were as depleted as the Kariba Dam but became flooded with cash after he undertook a trip to Turkey in 2020, according to a meticulous investigation carried out by a top investigator of the Drug Enforcement Commission (DEC).
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This was heard during a hearing in the continuing case against Malanji, a former foreign affairs minister in the Edgar Lungu regime accused of dubiously possessing two helicopters, BELL430 and a BELL 206 Jet Ranger helicopter, and houses.
In this case former secretary to the treasury Fredson Yamba and Malanji, are accused of failing to adhere to guidelines relating to the management of public resources and possessing property suspected to be proceeds of crime.
Yamba is alleged to have abrogated the law relating to the management of public property when he approved the transfer of K154,201,197 for the purchase of a chancery in Turkey.
Testifying before the Economic and Financial Crimes Court yesterday, Kwaleye Mukelabai said Malanji’s company accounts were penniless and was only flooded with cash after his Morocco and Turkey trips.
In his previous testimony, Mukelabai said Malanji had used the presidential jet to run the million dollar errands between Turkey and Morocco and Zambia as a special envoy of former Head of State, Edgar Lungu.
In yesterday’s testimony, Mukelabai contended that Malanji’s decision to write Stanbic in October 2020, requesting it to inform the Bank of Zambia (BoZ) that he would be depositing dollars in cash into his company account, was predetermined to divert public funds.
Mukelabai told the court presided over by magistrate Irene Wishimanga that during interrogations Malanji had told him that the source of the funds for the helicopters he had procured, came from the contracts the Gibson Power Systems had with China Civil engineering Construction Corporation in Lubumbashi DRC.
He said Malanji provided documents: a sub contract, some withdraw slips showing that Mass investment Limited had paid Gibson Power Systems: He also provided some receipts which were showing that he received cash from the DRC, documents showing that there were interim payments certificates, a letter written by himself to Stanbic Bank which was showing that it was from Cosmopolitan Branch.
Mukelabai said Malanji showed him some documents from Raw Bank, showing Mass investment had made cash payments to
Gibson Power systems.
He said the documents showing the said payments were fake as Charles Kabozya a Congolese magistrate established that, China Civil Engineering and Mass Investment never dealt with Gibson Power Systems.
Mukelabai said according to Kabozya Raw bank also discredited statement by Malanji that Mass investment made cash payments to his company Gibson Power Systems, as the seven withdraw slips and bank statements he provided legally back up his statement, were falsified.
“Mr Malanji had written a letter to Stanbic on October 15, 2020 asking Stanbic Bank to inform the Central Bank (BoZ) that, at some point in future he would be depositing US$100, 000 in cash, which would come from the contract which Gibson Power Systems had in Congo,” he said.
“To this letter he (Malanji) had attached the contract between China Civil Engineering Corporation and Gibson Power Systems.”
Mukelabai said his investigations revealed that Malanji’s companies had no business in the neighboring country neither did they make profits.
“The letter was pre-determined to divert funds.
After going to DR Congo, I established that there was no money that came from Congo,”Mukelabai said.
“The only money I traced as having been deposited as stated by Mr Malanji was the money he started depositing on December 31, 2020 when he came back from Turkey.”
He told the Court that Parliament issued documents of Malanji’s earnings between 2016 and 2021 comprising of his allowances, salaries and gratuity, which were cumulative to K5.1 million.
Mukelabai said he later extended his investigations to Civil Aviation Authority and Francis Mutukumina availed him registration documents for BELL 206 and the application was made by Gibson Air Charters
The matter comes up on September 19, 2024 at 14:00hours.
Kalemba
In a normal society Malanji should be staring at a death sentence. This is crazy, who steals this kind of money from a his poor country? And spends it on helicopters? Houses in Silverest mwebantu sure? Anyway, Malanje never went to school like most PF guys and supporters
And you think the current regime is stealing sweets?
Malanji will just have these assets confiscated and will never spend a day in jail. That is how Hakainde operates. Steal as much as you want, but do not worry because you will be free to steal again.
Vote wisely in 2026.
@Indigo Tyrol you are a disgusted person who has no direction in analysing critical issues. Your careless mouth will land in problems. For sometime now your postings are baseless but aimed at ridiculing the president and the government.
So far so good with the way the case is going. Pipo need to learn lessons big time.
Please keep us informed on this case ba Kalemba. I am looking forward to 1hear Mr. Malanji’s version in his defence.
Investigations should not just focus on the earnings by the accussed over a given period. We should also be given his expenses so that we have an idea of what funds were actually available for investment.
This is a captivating case and Iam just wondering what my dear relative ba Indigo’s take on this is.
Ba JMC, what gives you the impression I condon corruption ? Tamulekutika kanshi.
You are a UPND supporter. I have no party. My party is called mother Zambia. That is why I criticise anyone abusing our country, like what is happening right now.
Mulekutika ba JMC.
Vote wisely in 2026.
Ba Indigo, it is not that you condon corruption. Rather, I get the impression that you think PF is a lesser evil whereas I think UPND is a lesser evil.
And just for the record, Iam not a UPND member but I abhor PF because I had some serious personal encounters with them. One time, PF cadres forced my wife off the road (an elderly lady) and hurled insults at her to the extent she literally wept by the side of the road. For that, I will never forgive them. They are the scum of the earth and should never ever come anywhere near the corridors of power.
On another occassion, I almost lost a piece of land which PF cadres “sold” to a Congolese after conniving with Ministry of Lands officials. PF was rotten to the core and their “great leader” has so far shown absolutely no remorse for the extensive damage he did to our country.
Ba Indigo, I am also first and foremost a patriot and will NEVER support UPND if they do something stupid. If you have any dirt on UPND that will stick, I am all ears. Goodnight my dear brother. Have a good night’s sleep.
And you think the current regime is stealing sweets?
Malanji will just have these assets confiscated and will never spend a day in jail. That is how Hakainde operates. Steal as much as you want, but do not worry because you will be free to steal again.
Vote wisely in 2026.
Wrong is wrong anytime and always in a fair world or country.Why does this life allow jailing of people in govt when they exit public office ?The other time a Turkish told the court that money was collected from the bank in Turkey,.The money was packed in two bags which were subsequently packed in an airplane which Malanji and entourage used to come back from Turkey to Zambia.So what does this evidence tell you people of Zambia ? This is how people we vote for amass wealth instead of improving our lives. In this new dawn so many people especially from pf regime have lost their cash and property believed to have been acquired dubiously. What pain do culprits have by losing their half or quarter wealth ? Who are beneficiaries of the forfeited wealth ? Trust can mostly come when culprits are punished during their time in these public offices,and not to wait till they leave office.The money from Turkey was good money.Does it mean pf guys did not know about the disappearance of that colossal sum of tax payer’s money ?Is what happened in pf govt a thing of the past today ?
“Is what happened in pf govt a thing of the past today ?”
The answer to your (Kanyembe Willie) question above is “nothing has changed.” Post-UNIP Zambian politicians are cut from the same dirty cloth. Consequently it is very difficult to find a truly patriotic and clean Zambian politician today on both sides of the aisle.
This kind of theft had gone commercial mwebantu.Even a blind man can see.Kudos to mukelebai otherwise he could have fallen pray…the money was too huge they could have corrupted him.
This mukelabai chap is above board. If we 10 Zambians in his like, the thieves would be thinking twice B4 stealing.
UPND has a few chaps especially in the sweetest town of Zambia that need to account for their wealth
This Mukelabai chap is above board. If we had 10 Zambians in his like, thieves would bebe thinking twice B4 stealing. What UPND should have done was to select dedicated Zambians, send them abroad for a specialized training like that of this Mukelabai chap to carry serious investigations especially for high level crime like for the Lungu’s family.
PF if we’re not voted out had a dangerous mission, probably owning Zambia as a whole. We had Mobutu in zambia