By GRACE CHAILE-LESOETSA
A Nigerian and seven Zambians accused of swindling 59 people of over K6 million have denied owning an online business called “My Zamfund Village Banking.”
The eight claim that they were merely participants in the online business and were part of the WhatsApp groups only as group administrators.
In this matter, Mr Davies Musonda and 58 others sued Prosper Sylvia Ezeokah, a Nigerian resident in Zambia and Zambians, Rodrick Mulumbwa Musonda, Nelly Banda Zimba, Luyando Dyololo, Joseph Mwaba, Joshus Chikonko, George Chishimba and Chilufya Mulolo as defendants in the matter.
This is contained in a statement of claim filed in the Lusaka High Court.
Mr Ezeokah together with the seven Zambians are alleged to have created and operated the online business My Zamfund Village Banking.
The 59 who invested between K480, 000 and K5, 000 want the court to order Mr Ezeokah and the others to pay the K6, 760, 245 which was collected from them.
They are seeking an order and declaration that the defendants’ conduct to illegally collect and withhold their money was extremely deceptive, fraudulent and that it deprived them of their legitimate revenue.
Mr Musonda and others want the court to order the eight to give a complete account of all the business transactions and money they dishonestly collected.
They want the court to order that the nine administrators open the website and whatsapp group to allow them access their accounts.
The 59 are also seeking an order that Mr Ezeokah and others surrender all the properties, motor vehicles, server and others gadgets which were bought through the money generated from them.
But in their defence, the eight have denied that My Zamfund Village Banking was the trade name but that there was an online platform on which participants of village banking under a group called My Zamfund were being paired on a peer to peer basis.
Mr Ezeokah and others argued that the plaintiffs also actively recruited participants to join the peer to peer village banking that was being conducted on the My Zamfund Village Banking, online business.
The eight stated that the 59 will be put to strict proof over allegations that they set-up the business.
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