COURT FINDS WARMA DIRECTOR GENERAL WITH CASE TO ANSWER FOR FORGERY AND UTTERING FALSE DOCUMENT

COURT FINDS WARMA DIRECTOR GENERAL WITH CASE TO ANSWER FOR FORGERY AND UTTERING FALSE DOCUMENT

The Lusaka Subordinate Court has found Director General of Water Resources Management Authority-WARMA, Engineer Kenneth Nyundu, with a case to answer for forgery, uttering a false document and obtaining pecuniary advantage by false pretense and has since been put on his defense.

When the matter came up for ruling yesterday before Magistrate Holland on whether Mr. Nyundu has a case to answer, the court stated that it appears to the court that there is sufficient evidence adduced by the Anti-Corruption Commission-ACC establishing a prima facie case of wrongdoing on the part of Engineer Nyundu.

Engineer Nyundu is alleged to have forged his contract of employment between 5th February, 2021 and 30th July, 2022, and knowingly and fraudulently uttering the said contract to Mr. Joe Kalusa, Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Water Development and Sanitation that he was entitled to 20 percent housing allowance net tax and 35 percent vehicle allowance before tax of his basic salary when in fact not.

According to testimonies by state witnesses, this offence could have been committed during the period when the warma board was dissolved, and no new board had been appointed to approve amendments to the original contract.

Engineer Nyundu is also alleged to have dishonestly accumulated K709,336.92 in motor vehicle allowance up to 30 July, 2022 as vehicle allowance from WARMA by falsely pretending that he has purchased a vehicle from Jelumu General Trading Limited when in fact not.

Among state witnesses who testified included Permanent Secretary Joe Kalusa, former Warma Internal Auditor, Directors of Finance and Human Resources Directors, and Jimmy Muchindu, a director whose testimonies all collaborated.

Some records show that Engineer Nyundu had continued to accumulate fuel allowances beyond 30 July, 2022 until the time of him being sent on leave after his arrest.

PN