TEDWORTH IN NEW TWIST

Wed, 25 Jan 2017 11:28:51 +0000

By NATION REPORTER

THE Attorney General should cause the Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) and the Bank of Zambia (BoZ) to take a full account of assets and money from the Tedworth properties which were forfeited to the State through a Supreme Court Judgement because there is evidence of plunder and abuse by those who managed it, Edward Mumbi has said.

Mr Mumbi has challenged the ACC and the Bank of Zambia to state under whose authority offshore accounts were opened to which rentals from Tedworth properties were being administered.

“Who authorised that the properties should be managed by the Bank of Zambia and why should the properties be passed to the state without a proper accounting of the funds that were looted. There is need for due diligence,” Mr Mumbi said.

Mr Mumbi who is former UPND presidential spokesperson said money generated from the assets which were on rent to high profile institutions such as the United Nations and individuals could have been looted by the people who championed the prosecution of second republican president Frederick Chiluba.

He dismissed as contrived and a diversionary attempt a complaint by former Rainbow Party secretary general Cosmas Musumali accusing Judge Sunday Nkonde of receiving  a payment from the  Tedworth properties, which he acted for.

The diversion was meant to scandalise Judge Nkonde and therefore derail the work that he was undertaking.

“There are cases on court
record indicating that SNB, Judge Nkonde’s firm was retained by Dr. Frederick Chiluba to claim Tedworth properties and that he asked for payment for his services for representing the company. This matter is on record, but what is not on record is how the rentals from the properties were used when they were being managed by the Bank of Zambia which did not have any mandate to manage sequestrated properties.”

Mr Mumbi said the assets were operating ventures even as President Chiluba was being persecuted. He state that the judgement on Tedworth created a very bad precedence for sitting presidents because it is clear that President Chiluba was not acting on his own or indeed for his own personal benefit.

“There is need for a commission of inquiry to protect the presidency because the same thing could happen to other Presidents,” he said.

Dr. Musumali, he said, had no idea of the genesis of the Tedworth properties to complain about payment to Judge Nkonde.

“The genesis of the properties goes a long way and those in the know are aware that his complaint is nothing more than a contrived diversion.”

He said should the ACC and the Central Bank fail to give a full account of the assets and the money realised from rentals, it would be necessary for the Attorney General to see the need for the establishment of a commission of inquiry into Dr Chiluba’s assets. He said the Bank of Zambia had appointed a liquidator for the assets of Dr Chiluba and that it was important that a full account of how the assets were managed was given and published so that Zambians could know and understand that the legacy of Dr Chiluba was being adulterated by a clique of individuals with corrosive hatred for the former president.

“The Attorney General should cause the ACC to account for all the money as that is the institution that was prosecuting Dr Chiluba. There could be a possibility that the money could have been stolen and should the ACC fail to account for the money including that which was being taken offshore, a commission of inquiry for Dr Chiluba’s assets should be constituted,” Mr Mumbi said.