State witness says he has no evidence that Mukandila forged a signature

By CHIKUMBI KATEBE

A STATE witness has told the Lusaka Magistrate Court that he has no direct evidence that Celestine Mukandila forged his signature.

Testifying before Lusaka Magistrate Anna Holland, businessman Yaes Salim Sheth, 31, of Makeni, conceded he was nowhere near when the alleged forgery is said to have taken place.

"I did not catch him writing my signature. I cannot name anyone who saw him write my signature," Salim Sheth told Magistrate Holland on Friday, stating that his belief that Mukandila was responsible stemmed from his position in the company - as a director and company secretary of ZRIMS Farm Limited.

Mr Sheth admitted that Mukandila did not tell him that he had forged his signature.

And Mr Sheth discarded his earlier testimony that he had never written to the Immigration Department, telling the court that he had in fact written to the department complaining about Mukandila.

Under further questioning, he confirmed he had indeed written to the department, seeking an extension of his investment permit and a change in the nature of his business, which letter he attributed to pressure from Mukandila and Mohamed Patel, a fellow director at ZRIMS Farm.

The matter has been adjourned to December 16, 2026, for continued trial.

Mukandila, a lawyer and secretary general of the Tonse Pamodzi Alliance, denies all four charges against him - two of forgery and two of uttering false documents.

He was in court in allegations that between July 2022 and July 2024, he forged Mr Sheth's signature on a PACRA Form 12 and a letter purporting to surrender Mr Sheth's shares in ZRIMS Farm Limited, and later presented those documents as authentic.

He pleaded not guilty on September 30, 2026, and is out on K20, 000 cash bail.

Ends.