Africa-Press – Zambia. The Supreme Court of Zambia has recently passed judgement on an appeal by four individuals who were convicted of corruption by the Magistrate’s Court in 2010. The convictions of former Finance Minister Katele Kalumba and former Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Finance, Stella Chibanda, were upheld. However, the case of Faustine Kabwe and Aaron Chungu, the directors and shareholders of Access Financial Services Limited, has attracted particular attention and outrage due to the perceived injustice of their convictions.
Access Financial Services Limited was a bank founded by Kabwe and Chungu in the early 1990s which quickly grew in prominence in Zambia. One of the bank’s clients was the Zambia Security Intelligence Services (ZSIS), a national institution responsible for domestic and foreign intelligence. In 2010, Kabwe and Chungu were convicted of corruption due to a $20 million payment that their bank made to two US-based security companies from a ZSIS bank account.
However, the legitimacy of the convictions has been called into question. The Director of Public Prosecutions testified that there was no wrongdoing by Kabwe and Chungu in the case. Despite this, the Supreme Court upheld their convictions and sentenced them to five years in prison.
PeP President Sean Tembo has spoken out against the ruling, calling it a great injustice. He points out that the payment was authorized by officials at ZSIS and that the bank had sufficient funds for the transaction. He also notes that no ZSIS officials have been charged with any wrongdoing in the case.
Mr Tembo suggests that the failure to overturn the convictions of Kabwe and Chungu may be due to the potential cost to the state of doing so. He also raises the possibility of corruption within the legal system, stating that the case has passed through five administrations without resolution.
According to PeP President Sean Tembo, who has reviewed the evidence against Kabwe and Chungu, there appears to be little wrongdoing on their part. The background of the case involves the Zambia Security Intelligence Services (ZSIS), a national institution responsible for domestic and foreign intelligence. After Fredrick Chiluba left office in 2002 and Levy Mwanawasa took over, Mwanawasa engaged in a corruption fight against the plunder of national resources that occurred during Chiluba’s reign. It was discovered that members of Chiluba’s regime were using ZSIS bank accounts, including one maintained at Access Financial Services Limited, to siphon money out of the country.
Mr Kabwe and Mr Chungu, who founded Access Financial Services Limited in the 1990s, were convicted of corruption due to a $20 million payment made by their bank to two US-based security companies from a ZSIS bank account. However, Tembo argues that the payment was authorized by ZSIS officials and the bank had adequate funds to make the payment. No ZSIS officials were charged with any offenses.
Mr Tembo alleges that the conviction of Kabwe and Chungu is an act of injustice that has persisted through five presidential administrations, as giving them justice would be costly to the state. He calls for the release of Kabwe and Chungu and for the state to return Access Financial Services Limited to them.
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