Witness: No Direct Money Transfer to Livingstone Mayor

A state witness told the court that he neither personally handed over money nor saw Monde Sumbwa give money to Livingstone Mayor, Constance Muleabai.

This is part of a case where Ms. Muleabai, who is 49 years old, faces two counts of corrupt practices, which is currently being heard by Lusaka Senior Resident Magistrate, Trevor Kasanda.

In the first count, Ms. Muleabai is accused of corruptly asking for one hundred and twenty thousand kwacha from Zamnuka Farming General Manager, Mark Gabites, as a bribe.

The supposed reason was to help get a 100 percent discount on property rates bills at Livingstone City Council, which involves Zamnuka Farming Limited, a private company.

In the second count, Ms. Muleabai is said to have corruptly received one hundred and eighty thousand kwacha from Mr. Gabites, under the same conditions as the first count.

These offenses are thought to have happened in Livingstone on unknown dates between August 1, 2023, and September 30, 2023.

When the case was discussed yesterday, Mr. Gabites, who is 58, testified before Magistrate Kasanda, who was in Livingstone, that he did not personally give the money to Ms. Muleabai.

Mr. Gabites also mentioned that there is no direct proof that the money supposedly given to Ms. Muleabai came from his farm, as the farm did not have a bank account at that time.

The witness, who testified online from Thailand, also agreed during cross-examination that the phone that was said to have recorded a conversation between him and Ms. Muleabai was not actually shown in court.

Earlier, Mr. Gabites told the court that the one hundred and eighty thousand kwacha was sent to Mr. Sumbwa’s bank account, who then took out the money and gave it to Ms. Muleabai.