By CHARLES MUSONDA
THE State has slapped five counts of forgery and five others of uttering false documents on three directors of Marshland Consortium Limited following their arrest last week.
This is according to the indictment brought to the attention of Lusaka Chief Resident Magistrate Lameck Mwale yesterday by the accused persons’ defence lawyer Jonas Zimba who protested against the document.
In the indictment, the three accused persons are Tobias Milambo, 47, an insurer of plot 38, Woodlands, Richard Lubemba, 31, another insurer of Chalala both in Lusaka; and Nachi Musonda, 33, of 23230 Chongwe.
It is alleged that between January 1, 2018, and March 25, 2020 Milambo, Lubemba, and Musonda in Lusaka with other unknown persons, forged a Bitrust Real Estate Innovative Solution valuation report dated January 6, 2018 for stand number 9192/35 Mununga Road in Ndola by purporting to show that it was genuinely issued, signed and authorized by Bitrust Real Estate Innovative Solution for Investors when in fact not.
Other documents they have been accused of forging are valuation reports on subdivision A of lot number 20081/M in Lusaka, subdivision 17 of lot number 12497 also in Lusaka, subdivision 17 of lot number 12497; and Ultimate Insurance Company Limited’s unanimous resolutions of the shareholders dated June 25, 2018 by purporting to show that it was genuinely issued, signed and authorized by Bitrust Real Estate Innovative Solution for investors when in fact not.
They have also been accused of jointly forging a letter of appointment of managing director in the name of Tobias Milambo dated August 13, 2018 by purporting to show that it was genuinely issued and signed by authorised signatories of Ultimate Insurance Company Limited when in fact not.
In the subsequent counts of uttering false documents, Milambo is accused of uttering the alleged forged valuation reports and the letter of appointment to the Pensions and Insurance Authority (PIA) while in the other count he is charged with Lubemba for allegedly uttering the alleged forged Ultimate Insurance Company Limited’s unanimous resolutions of shareholders to PIA. But Mr. Zimba said National Prosecution Authority (NPA) prosecutors have taken the indictment directly before Lusaka Magistrate Alice Walusiku to replace the one of theft by director, which had already been taken to her by way of a complaint. He said the case of theft by director is different from the forgery one as the latter arose out of police investigations.
He said after their arrest on March 26, 2020, the accused persons should have been brought before the Chief Resident Magistrate for allocation of the case.
“Is it that there is something going on which we don’t know?” Mr. Zimba said.
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