Judge’s Bench | Senior DEC Officer Says, Under Oath, He Knows Nothing About Missing Court Records Allegedly Destroyed By AMOS Chanda.
…tells court that he is an experienced investigator tasked to follow financial crimes,
Lusaka – 22nd February, 2023.
A senior DEC investigations officer, of 20 years experience, has told the Magistrate’s Court that he did not investigate anything about the purported missing court record which DEC says was destroyed by Amos Chanda.
The officer, Jones Siasamba, who told the court he is an experienced investigator tasked to follow financial crimes, also said he did not have any voice report to affirm that the alleged audio was that of Mr. Chanda.
He told Magistrate Irene Washimanga that he also did not know the nature and cause number of the missing court document but was simply relying on the alleged voice recording of a person saying he burnt records of proceedings of a court.
The witness said the recording was done in a noisy place where a live band was playing but admitted that his recording did not pick the loud music and that it did not pick the voices of waiters who attended to him.
The witness also said he did not know the ring tone of the iPhone because he was not a technical person. This was when he was asked to confirm if he heard the loud sharp sound of an iPhone that was heard in the recording he presented to court.
He also said he was not aware of any matter before any court against Amos Chanda because he was just told there was a case that existed before, to which one defence lawyer quipped, “existed refers to past tense” and the witness responded in the affirmative.
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The witness also said he does not know how the unit of time in Zambia is outlined because he was not an expert. This was when defence counsel Timmy Munalula asked him to read his own report which he submitted showing that he recorded Mr. Chanda around 22:00 hours on 30 September, 2022 yet the technical report from ZICTA indicates 30 September 2022 at 02:14: 27 as as the time of the creation of the recording. The witness insisted he did not know if 02:14:27 AM referred to time.
“Yes my lady it says file created on 30 September 2022 but the final part of 02:14:27 AM may not be a time unit reference,” prompting Counsel Munalula to remind him that even a grade five pupil knew the unit of time.
“The court is aware of how time is recorded in this country and we invite the honourable court to take judicial notice.”
The witness further said he was not aware of any report by the Judiciary to the effect that any court record was missing because he did not carry out any investigations. He also said he did not understand the difference between a criminal case record and a civil one and that yesterday was the first time he was knowing that there was such a case before.
Asked to confirm whether the recording he tendered before court had any loud music in it, the state witness said it not. When reminded that it was his testimony that the place of the recording was the poolside at Sarovar Hotel where a live band with loud music was playing, the witness simply said yes there was DJ playing loud music.
Asked to confirm that “modified”means alteration, the witness said it could mean many things but in this case modified in the voice recording simply meant one thing to say the material was opened and saved but without changes.
He said his interest was aroused by the mere mention of the name Amos by a Lebanese man who was speaking on the phone nearby and he immediately took a recorder and set it up anticipating the arrival of Amos who he said suspected would be Amos Chanda.
“It was dark but lit enough to see people clearly and Mr. Chanda is a well-known figure so I recognised him immediately he arrived and I turned on my recorder.”
Trial continues on April 17.
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