Malanji never got a loan from DBZ, witness tells court
By Walusungu Lundu( The Mast)
AS trial continues in a case where former foreign affairs minister Joseph Malanji and former secretary to the treasury Fredson Yamba face 10 counts of willful failure to comply with laid down procedures and possession of property suspected to be proceeds of crime, a witness has left court in shock after disclosing that the statement he gave to Drug Enforcement Commission (DEC) against Malanji could not be tendered into evidence.
A Zambia Revenue Authority (ZRA) senior tax inspector Chilala Hakalima told the Lusaka Magistrates Court on Wednesday that the statement in question might contain some lies.
And another witness, a former Development Bank of Zambian (DBZ) senior portfolio management officer Lawrence Mainza also told the court that Malanji never got a loan from DBZ.
Hakalima, who is an inspector under the investigations unit, narrated that when he was giving his witness statement with a named DEC officer he was not told that it would be used in court.
Yamba is charged with two counts of willful failure to comply with laid down procedures while Malanji is facing eight counts of being in possession of property suspected to be proceeds of crime.
Asked by defence lawyer Makebi Zulu if the witness recalled giving a witness statement to any DEC officer, the witness responded in affirmative.
And asked if the said witness statement can be tendered into evidence, Hakalima responded in the negative.
When Zulu asked “why don’t you want your statement to be part of evidence,” the witness said “it was taken by Mr Mukelebai, he never mentioned to me that it will be used in court.”
Asked further if he had a conversation with Mukelebai, Hakalima said “no, he just mentioned to me that let me take your findings in a statement form.”
When Zulu asked “does it (the statement) contain lies,” the witness said “it might.”
And earlier, a former DBZ officer Lawrence Mainza informed the court that Malanji never got a loan from their bank.
Mainza also told the court that there were no irregularities in the loan that was given to Royal Gibson Hotel.
On June 18, former defence attaché at Zambia’s mission in Turkey Peter Kavuma told the Economic and Financial Crimes Court that Malanji did not handle any bags alleged to have been used to carry money.
Kavuma also told the court that Malanji was only in Turkey as a presidential envoy.
The witness further disclosed that the former minister did not go to any bank during his trip in Ankara, Turkey.
He said his interactions as regards facilitation at a time Malanji was in Turkey was with the late ambassador Joseph Chilengi.
On the same date, a state witness told the court that over $2 million was lent to Malanji’s company by 2015 because he was a deserving client.
Trywell Banda, a senior manager at First National Bank, also told the court that the said loan was in October 2020 cleared by Gibson Power Systems way before Malanji’s Ankara trip.
“In my submission to DEC, I explained the facilities that were obtained by Gibson Power Systems. First facility was granted on or around February 2013, amounting to K4.9 million. A loan that was to be paid over a period of five years,” he said. “…there came the need for additional funds which brought the second facility disbursed in about February 2014. The second facility was for K7.260 million in the form of an overdraft which is awarded to deserving customers to draw from their account up to the facility amount to run for a tenure of one year.”
Banda disclosed that FNB also approved Gibson Power System’s third loan facility to the tune of K10.2 million in November 2015.
He told court that Malanji’s company had settled the loan in October 2020, before the Ankara trip.
“I can confirm that the loan was settled in October 2020 way before December, the time for the Ankara trip,” said the witness.
The witness told the court that there was nothing illegal done as regards to the money advanced to Gibson Royal Hotel for purposes of renovations.
He said the bank disbursed over K22.300 million in loans to Gibson Power System which at the time would be converted up to $2 million.