“SAMPA IS LYING, SATUNIA REGNA OWNED THE BUILDING, SOLD IT TO ZNBS”
A Scribe aligned to UPND says Miles Sampa and Emmanuel Mwamba are lying that AfLife had just sold a building it owned to government at $10 million.
Sampa who is a member of Parliament for Matero in an article titled “Scandal after Scandal” disclosed that Government through Zambia National Building Society (ZNBS) had bought the building that used to host MTN headquarters at $10 million from AfLife.
The Matero MP said AfLife was owned by people close to the people with authority in government. He said these people would have influenced this sell.
Sampa however raised the issue of conflict of interest and wondered whether they declared interest. He charged that the whole transaction smell it corruption wondering how ZNBS would spend such huge money to buy the property when it was struggling to manage a number of its current properties.
Sampa said the fact that the transaction involved public money he was raising the alarm. He challenged government to come out and explain this alleged transaction.
But in a rebatle, a Scribe aligned to UPND government hours later disclosed that the building in question was never owned by AfrLife but Satunia Regina who has sold it to ZNBS.
Below is his full article:
MAANU CENTRE IS NOT OWNED BY DIEGO CASILLI NOR AFLIFE; NEVER HAS.
By Shalala Oliver Sepiso
After some wild allegations made by Emmanuel Mwamba and Miles Sampa that AfLife was a shareholder of Zambeef Products Plc and had sold the Chiawa Farm to government, today Miles Sampa went ahead to claim that AfLife had just sold a building it owned to government at a cost of USD 10 million.
Interestingly, The Patriotic Front – PF page, which is said to be controlled and managed by Emmanuel Mwamba, alleged that this building was owned by Diego Casilli. And that somehow African Life Financial Services and Casilli connived to sell the said building to the government.
A casual search online and a few calls to people in the know shows that the said building, which is the former MTN HQ called Maanu Centre, is neither owned by Diego Casilli nor AfLife.
The building was owned by Saturnia Regna Pension Fund. Saturnia Regina is a client of AfLife. The two are not one and the same entity. Clearly this means this building is certainly not owned by Diego Casilli.
I repeat, the building has never been owned by Aflife. It was owned by one of their clients. That client is the one who sold it to ZNBS on an arms length basis from either Diego Casilli or AfLife. The latter two know nothing about the ownership and sale of the building. As things stand, that building belongs to ZNBS.
Last time, Daily Nation apologised to AfLife and it’s directors after wrongly reporting that they were shareholders of AfLife and also that AfLife was a shareholder of ZAMBEEF.
As things stand, Sampa today made allegations. He is likely to be asked to produce evidence to substantiate his claim. Same with the editors of the PF page. Sampa is the one who has to show the evidence of what he is alleging, including the paper trail and any evidence of impropriety. Without that he has to apologise. In fact, I hear AfLife are still waiting for his apology and that of Emmanuel Mwamba’s over the Zambeef saga. Otherwise, it seems the two gentlemen and PF mouthpiece are going to have to defend themselves in court.