FORMER Kasama Central member of Parliament Kelvin Sampa has lost his appeal application in the Court of Appeal against the High Court’s refusal to stay execution of its ruling in which he was ordered to refund a businessman of Tanzanian origin, Salehe Mbaruku Sengulo and his company Mbaruku Trading Limited for the money he extorted from them to facilitate settlement of a dispute they had with the Zambia Revenue Authority (ZRA) over the importation of alcoholic goods into Zambia.
In this case, Mr. Sampa, who served as Patriotic Front (PF) Kasama Central MP from 2016 to 2021 was sued by Mbaruku in the Lusaka High Court to allegedly help the foreigner resolve his disputed issues with the ZRA.
According to documents obtained by the Daily Nation, the Court of Appeal dismissed Mr. Sampa’s application for stay of execution of the High Court’s ruling on grounds that he had not advanced any good and satisfactory reasons to justify the Court of Appeal’s discretion to grant the application.
Court of Appeal Judge Anne Sharpe- Phiri found no basis to grant Mr. Sampa’s application and she accordingly dismissed it.
In this case Mr Sampa was sued by Salehe Mbaruku Sengulo, and Mbaruku Trading Limited, as second plaintiff, in the Lusaka High Court for allegedly failing to refund them K1, 220,843.00 he collected to help the latter resolve the dispute they had with the ZRA.
The High Court has since ordered Mr Sampa to pay K600, 000 in costs to the respondents.
The former Kasama Central legislator sought to stay execution of the High Court’s judgment which the same bench later threw out.
In her ruling dated December 28, 2022, Ms. Justice Phiri stated that she was of the view that Mr. Sampa’s first grounds of appeal, which contested the trial court’s findings of having dim prospects of success.
The Judge ruled it was therefore improbable that the Court of Appeal would interfere with its findings of fact unless there were compelling grounds.
“On review of the affidavit evidence (by Mr. Sampa), I am not satisfied that the applicant (the former Kasama Central MP) has advanced any good and satisfactory reasons to justify the exercise of my discretion to grant a stay of execution. “In view of the foregoing, I find no basis to grant the application sought by the appellant ( Mr. Sampa). The application is accordingly dismissed with costs.”
