ZICTA CYBER EXPART CONTRADICTS DEC OFFICER OVER AMOS CHANDA CASE
Lusaka, 19 April 2023–AN expert state witness from ZICTA has told a Lusaka magistrate that the court must believe his scientific report which shows that the recording of Amos Chanda occurred at 02:55 am and not 22:00 pm as stated by a DEC officer who claimed to done the recording.
Jeff Sitali, 38, the manager for cyber security and specialist consumer education at ZICTA told Principal Resident Magistrate Irene Wishimanga that he carried out digital forensics and established that the device given to him by the DEC contained recordings done on 30 September 2022 at 02:55 am in the morning and not at 22:00 hrs as stated by DEC senior investigations office Jones Siansamba.
Responding to defence lawyers’ direct questions as to who the court must believe between him and Siansamba, Sitali said his report was an expert version drawn using incorruptible mechanism, and therefore the court must believe what was contained in his report.
The lawyers asked the witness to confirm that 02:55 am was earlier that 22:00 hrs under the Zambian time zone, Sitali answered in the affirmative.
Asked to confirm that it was not possible to record an event that has not occurred, the witness said it was not possible. He was then told to state whether it was him telling lies before court or it was Jones Siansamba from DEC, the witnes said he was telling the truth.
The defence lawyers asked Sitali to confirm whether the voices in the purported recording can be identified to point at Amos Chanda, but he said he can’t identify the voices and that he infact he did listen to the recordings at all he just downloaded them.
Asked to confirm whether his expert report talks about theft and destruction of evidence as the indictment says, Sitali said the report did not make any such reference at all.
The witness also admitted that the report he submitted before court was not conclusive because he had sent back to DEC for further review and DEC has not to this day, responded to him.
Another state witness, James Habasimbi, a waiter at Sarova Hotel, told the court he did not have any evidence that Amos Chanda ever joined a conversation with two others at Sarova on 30 September 2022.
“I do not have any evidence that Mr Amos Chanda joined table 24 but it was the table Mr Chanda’s friends booked,” Habasimbi said.
He was said the table was not booked by mr Chanda but his friends and that he did not fully remember whether it was table 24 or 22.
“The receipt before court is for table 22 but I served table 24 where Mr Chanda sat. Yes this receipt is wrong because it say table 22 but I served drinks on table 24,” he said.
Trial continues on April 21.