Wed, 01 Nov 2017 10:11:28 +0000
By Chikumbi Katebe
AN attempt by Fred M’membe to utter a false document has been exposed.
Judge Sunday Nkonde discovered that a false document was submitted by M’membe, claiming that it was signed and commissioned by M’membe when not.
This was after Justice Nkonde ruled that the application could not stand before court as Mr M’membe could not have authenticated a sworn affidavit at the time he was believed to have been out of Zambia in hiding.
Justice Nkonde in his ruling said the application allegedly said to have been made by Mr M’membe could not stand because it was sworn on false information that was given intentionally under oath.
“I am also compelled to stress that because the deponent states in the affidavit that everything is true, under penalty of perjury, it follows that swearing a false oath or willfully or intentionally giving testimony under oath once found to have occurred could attract adverse consequences,
“Having struck out the said affidavit, it means the appellation for determination of the two questions raised before me collapse as it has no leg to stand on and is also struck out,” said the High Court Judge.
There was an attempt by Mr M’membe’s daughter Akende M’membe who is a lawyer, tried to cure the defects of her father’s application by submitting an application for Power of Attorney, “But even that action could not be allowed as there was no proof of him being the author of the affidavit,” said Justice Nkonde
This was in an application filed before the Lusaka High Court, in which Mr M’membe requested to be joined as an interested party in the winding up of the Post Newspaper.
According to the affidavit, Mr M’membe raised a preliminary issue to determine whether Justice Nkonde (The Judge) could continue hearing the matter on account that he was a biased party, and also on whether the Judge could hear another case under cause number 2017/HPC/0097 which challenged his order.
The winding up of the Post newspaper was started by five former employees who accused the newspaper company of failing to meet its fi-nancial obligations to settle their salaries owing to huge external debt including unpaid taxes.
But Mr M’membe however disappeared from the face of the earth as police searched for his whereabouts to answer to queries arising from the winding up processes.
According to an affidavit in response to Mr M’membe’s application, one of the petitioners, Abel Mbozi submitted before court that the former Post chief was not party to the winding up process and so had no legal support to move the court.
“That I have been advised and verily believe to be true that Mr M’membe is not or was as of 21st February, 2017 the date he purportedly swore the affidavit before a commissioner of oaths out of jurisdiction.
“That the affidavit in question appears to have been signed before a Commissioner of Oaths in Zambia when in actual fact not,” he said.
According to Mr Mbozi, there was no known record to prove Mr M’membe had returned to the country after he was said to have left on February 10 2017.
