By Elias Munshya wa Munshya
The Lusaka High Court’s ruling when acquitting Regina Chiluba from the charges she was convicted for is a very significant legal opinion. All Zambians both within the legal profession and outside it should read it and deeply reflect on it. What Justice Hamaundu mentioned in his judgment reflects seriously on the prosecution and indeed on the trial magistrate Charles Kafunda himself. One would wonder why the Zambian prosecution could get this matter so wrong considering that since independence the Zambian prosecution has been charging criminals with the offences of “possessing stolen property” and “theft”. The fact that they failed to even follow routine legal procedures is just despicable to say the least.
First, as observed by the High Court’s panel of three judges, Regina Chiluba’s cases were not properly investigated. You wonder what the prosecution was rushing for. It is rather sad that they charged her with possession or failure to account for property suspected to be stolen when no one had reported the said property stolen. The prosecution simply concluded that since the TV had the words state house embossed on it, it then belonged to State House. They also concluded that since it was bought on State House stationery that provided the prima facie case to charge Regina of possession. But in all this they had missed an important element in theft. One can only be guilty of theft if he has dishonestly appropriated property belonging to another with intention to deprive the other permanently of that property. In this case, no body claimed to have been the original owner of that property and most crucially no one from State House reported the television as stolen. On this point the prosecution failed terribly.
Second, the prosecution failed because they expected Regina Chiluba to give them a reasonable explanation about the properties. In accordance with the ground breaking case of Woolmington v DPP [1935], in criminal matters the burden of proof lies with the prosecution to prove their case beyond reasonable doubt. There is no expectation that the accused should proffer reasonable explanation about the offence she is accused of. There is no way that the prosecution should have reversed the burden of proof back to Mrs. Chiluba. She did not owe the prosecution or indeed the investigators any reasonable explanation at all. An accused person in criminal matters is not expected to volunteer information that may further incriminate them. The prosecution will have to provide their evidence beyond reasonable doubt. Rightly, as noted by Judge Hamaundu it is sad that one of the reasons why she was convicted was that she did not give reasonable explanations. She did not need to. The prosecution cannot hide their inefficiency under the cloud of the defendant’s inconsistent testimony.
Third, the High Court also observed that the investigators’ failure to interview Dr. Frederick Chiluba or even summon him as a witness to have been a very weak legal judgment. The prosecution alleged that Regina got stolen money and a television set from Dr. Frederick Chiluba. But they did not interview this Chiluba, and neither did they charge him with stealing those very properties. It is not that, Chiluba was outside their jurisdiction. It is not even that Chiluba refused to cooperate with them. They just decided to ignore him. And seriously, the consequence of that ignoring has come to haunt the prosecution. This was badly prepared case and it failed from the moment that they charged Regina with receiving stolen property. The prosecution should have known better. The offence of theft and possession or handling of stolen goods is perhaps the most common offence before our magistrate courts today. The prosecution has been handling these cases since independence. How did they fail to cover that loophole?
Fourth, Magistrate Charles Kafunda is seriously indicted in the High Court’s opinion as well. The High Court ruled that there was no prima facie case in the first place, against Regina and as such she did not even need to be put on defence. We could have given Kafunda a benefit of doubt if at all the High Court’s acquittal was simply based on a legal technicality. But here there is no legal technicality. The High Court is clear; there was no need to proceed in the first place. Undoubtedly, Kafunda could have saved himself this legal embarrassment. If Kafunda had any doubt in his mind about the prosecution’s case that should have worked to the accused’s favour. But the question still remains, why did Magistrate Kafunda go on to put Regina on defence and in fact go ahead to convict her, when the prosecution’s case was so weak?
On the acquittal there are those who feel that the invisible hands of the State may have played a part in the acquittal of Regina Chiluba. But with a case so blatantly inadequate there can only be one conclusion. Regina Chiluba was acquitted because she was innocent of those charges right from the start. The prosecution failed in all these steps because Regina may have been innocent. But for now the learned judge Magistrate Kafunda will have to do a little bit more growing in his legal skills. For now this case shows that he still needs a little more time!
It was Magistrate Kafunda who was leaned on by the State. I have said again and again on these blogs that Zambians will rue the day they will not have a President like RB. Indeed since 1970, we now have again a President who respects the independence of the Judiciary. LPM intimidated junior legal minds by calling himself ‘lawyer Wa ma lawyer’ even though he was out of practice and with post concussive syndrome!
Kafupi and his giraffe may celebrate today and think they are on top of the world. but their deeds will soon follow them together with every one who was connected to this case. at one point in life, they will pay for their wrong doing. The only consolation we have is , God is a fair judge.
And thats how the matter ended, case closed, judges paid off, witnesses paid off, Kafupi and wife scott free, more resources plundered and the country on its belly. Am better off here overseas than put up with all this nonsense. Only in Africa!!!
Regina received stolen property from Chiluba, that’s a fact. The prosecution were incompetent, that’s a fact. It does not at all mean no one stole. It only shows once again that the LAW HAS NOTHING TO DO WITH JUSTICE, especially in the hands of incompetent people. Lets learn our lessons and move on.
Well analyzed ba Munshya wa Munshya.Kafunda was under extreme pressure to deliver a conviction by the LPM administration, hence his f**k ups in this case.
Come on son,thats the high court ruling you are quoting.Did you even bother to read Magistrate Kafunda’s judgement?
Who told you that if you are found with property that has not been reported stolen then its all good.better leave Henry Kapoko then if thats your reasoning.
Those three judges should be ashamed of themselves for such petty reasoning.By the way its Judge Hamaundu that acquited FTJ on the theft charges how do you expect him to convict regina of posession of stolen property? The whole Judiciary is a playground for Alaa B & clique
I thought the people of Zamba were the complenants?
#6 wanzelu. i see nzelu in you. this idi0t.’the writer of this article‘ deliberately chose to ignore the fact that the fellow idi0t who acquitted the little big thief is the same one acquitting his spouse. he cant contradict himself. finding chiluba’s wife guilty was going to be a huge contraction on his ruling on chiluba. so whats the fack is mushya wa mu fyakuti saying. why didn’t he give us kafundas ruling and the high court ruling for us to see which made sense. who on this green earth doesn’t know that chiluba and his wife are thieves.
we all know the author as a stonch cadre of the MMd hence coming to the defence of RB’s secured judgment.
ELIAS MUSHYA NOTHING CAN BE FURTHER FROM THE TRUTH. REGINA IS INNOCENT AND THE COURTS DID JUSTICE. WHAT DID SHE STEAL AND FROM WHO. A MISDEMENOUR MAXIMUM SENTENCE IS TWO YEARS BUT KAFUNDA GAVE OUT 3 YEARS AND IN THAT CASE THE COURT OF APPEAL WILL JUST DISMISS THE CASE ACCORDING TO OUR LAWS
Regina Chiluba is Innocent and the Courts ruled correctly!!
So Myunshya, if the TV had imprints of STATE HOUSE, who was the rightful owner of this toshiba 51inch tv? statehouse or regina? if reciepts were in state house name, then the person possessing the tv must have either gone to state house, got the tv or someone from statehouse must have taken the tv to regina. in either case it will not be reported as stolen since regina or the person who took the tv to her will not disclose to the public that such a televisio has been stolen on one simple reason, NO THIEF HAS EVER TAKEN HIM/HERSELF to report that something is stolen. the reading is clearly on the wall. STOLEN PROPERTY !By who KAFUPI and REGION or Regina if you wish
I dont agree with what “THE SAINT” has posted.What you have said is not true and you know it. RB has no respect for judiciary. Please open your eyes and you will see what I mean!!!
I thought Jones Chinyama aquitted Chiluba, was it Hamahundu? correct me on this. Hamaundu was just the judge to allocate this case and he sent it to chinyama i bet. All the same, and I QUOTE like in WWE when the WWE RAW manager sends an email. and i quote”The prosecution simply concluded that since the TV had the words state house embossed on it, it then belonged to State House. They also concluded that since it was bought on State House stationery that provided the prima facie case to charge Regina of possession.” so ba munshya wesu, twebeni, if STATEHOUSE IS EMBOSSED on the toshiba, what does it mean? simple answer kolwe iwe is, the televisio BELONGS TO STATEHOUSE and statehouse is a property of zediane entrusted in one kamunyama called president to sleep there not to start stealing…
stealing ama TOSHIBA 51 inch TV to give utwanakashi nato UTWAKWIBA. yaba chiluba nipompwe bane. so many people have died and lost jobs becoz of this heartless man. KK once warned you that the person u want is terrible. you called KK fonkofonko and he replied its your bellies that are gonna fonka and indeed it was so in the reign of terror of one called ftj
and i quote”There is no expectation that the accused should proffer reasonable explanation about the offence she is accused of. There is no way that the prosecution should have reversed the burden of proof back to Mrs. Chiluba. She did not owe the prosecution or indeed the investigators any reasonable explanation at all.” munshya kwena waliba DULL. regina was in possession of STATE TROPHIES in the name of TOSHIBA 51 INCH TV iwe. who gave regina the tv? why was the documentation not in the name of CHILUBA FTJ so that the tv becomes personal? you are the type that think company ngayakupela personal to holder motoka ninshi yaba yobe. Iyo bane inchito ngaywapwa take back what belongs to the company not UBUPUPU. I think elias is a beneficiary
Evil shall prevail but for while!
The prosecution was incompetent, granted. But to conclude that Regina is innocent is taking great leaps of faith. She was in possession of property which belonged to State House, bought by State House and even tagged ‘State House’. Clearly Regina had some explaining to do. Like, you know, how she came to be in possession of State House property. This was not Chiluba’s property to hand over. Chiluba should also have been prosecuted for this crime
That is why the Great ARISTOTLE once argued that, “when you have pipo who can reason, law is useless”. this was after he observed rigiditness in law. So what im saying regardless of these aquitals due to technicalities and rigiditness, chiluba stole and shared with his concubines
Our country has gone down may be to the dogs ,sorry for saying this, the other day i was ashemed listining news with friends just to hear that Zambia is number 2 after Albania as one of the most corrupted countries in the world.I can`t agree with what has been side, someone cannot continue having things without knowing where he or she is getting them or less than what he gets i think the govt has the right to control We have now become the most corrupted country because we voted for thief (chiluba) RB has no vision for our Country .Come next year please choose another leader
Elias, elias, elias! how many times did i call you? 3 solid times. your analysis is more cadre inclined than admitting that property of STATEHOUSE must remain within the perimeters of STATEHOUSE. Regina was no were near state house power and even if she was the asset vividly embossed or engraved with the tattoos “STATE HOUSE” Clearly meant it was and belongs to plot #1 and levy must have found this Grundig but alas kakaboke kapita na mpi. kalepepa nokupepa ati Hallelujah uu bomba mwibala alya mwibala. imilandu taibola bane!
The name of the author says it all “Munshi wa Munshi” , Village of the village.
No 19 chimba II u r rite
Andrew Banda, the son to Alabee was arrested and convicted for being in posession of government trophy (under chiluba’s regime). The backgroung reasons: He was a UPND top official who during a bye election period, found MMD cadres in connivance with Ministry of Home Affairs official dishing out NRCs at night somewhere in mumbwa district. He grabbed the GRZ equipment and took it to the nearest Police Station to report the obscene act he had witnessed. The police and courts ended up charging, prosecuting and convicting him for having unauthorized posession of GOVT trophy. Can you make out sense between this case and Regina’s???
This is the most uselesss analysis that this cadre is trying to stomach on our throats.Leave Kafunda alone!If the others have acquited Regina then well and good.Our advice to u is go and read Kafunda’s judgement as well.Viva Kafunda.
Mwine #4 you speak sense but just how do we move on? Perhaps by ensuring we dont have incompetent Presidents like Mwanawasa and Rupiah Banda whose only resort is manipulation of State systems. These systems should protect citizens especially the most vulnerable ones but they are not doing this. Africans live in a fake world all the time cheating themselves that they are in democracies but in reality they are in dictatorships. At times they cheat themselves that they are Christians but when in trouble rush to their roots and consult traditional healers who their newly found faith condemns. Its time we became our real selves. And Mangani #22 you Chipata man: Munshi wa Munshi doesn’t mean what you just said. Mwasendapo bwafufu!
his again confirms to us how poor is our zambian administration,,, FTJ and Regina should pray hard that RB makes it next year otherwise nimwachuleni,,, There is need to send back to school our judges to go and study a bit of logic,,, like this even a fo-o-l will laugh at us.
his again confirms to us how poor is our zedian administration,,, FTJ and Regina should pray hard that RB makes it next year otherwise nimwachuleni,,, There is need to send back to school our judges to go and study a bit of logic,,, like this even a fo-o-l will laugh at us.
Why can’t it be that Levy leaned on the judiciary in order to force a conviction?
After all, FTJ was Levy’s enemy, right?
So why should RB inherit Levy’s enemies?
Why not just let the law take its course?
If Regina gets acquitted then so be it.
Tell me why not?
That case is a timely reminder to the present first Lady of Zambia. Wipe out the State House labels from whatever gifts RB gives you. Secondly dont volunteer information to the police if you are ever brought before the wicked Zambian courts. Thirdly, Keep receipts of all the monies you have been distributing to the women. The Lawyers who are defending Kapoko should learn one or two things from Regina. Its up to the prosecuters to prove that any hard working junior civil servant can accumulate billions without any explainations. Mr Munshya wa Munshya will indeed do well to be a legal advisor to Kapoko
I am just from reading the judgment. Anyone who wants it may forward me their email address or use other means that you feel will secure your privacy. Alternatively, facebook would do. Maybe we can form informed opinions based on that. Cheers
This case just goes to show how COMPROMISED the F>U>C>KING JUDICIARY is!! State Property clearly embossed & purchased with taxpayers monies – these monkies now say, it isn’t state property?
Munsha you fall in that same category!!! THE PROSECUTION, wasn,t it representing the state??? For the DPP to okay it, hadn’t he satisfied himself that the state was the complainant in this matter?
I think even a dog can see thru this munsha, hyaenas though wouldn’t, & so munshya you seem to be clutching on the same leftovers that get thrown to these judges – these judges are even worse than those Idi Amin cavorted with!!
Its public property belonging to the people of Zambia. No one claimed something had been stolen from them simply because the thief was the Head of State with alot of immunities against procecution. The author is an i.d.i.o.t. Suppose someone is Civil Servant and runs an office where computers, tables, sofas you name it are all marked GRZ and suppose that one day, the officer privately offers as a present one of the computers in this office to his girlfriend. Does the privacy with which the officer obtains this property and gives it to the girl friend exonerate the officer and makes the computer less of Govt property?
Lets just face it, Regina had to be acquitted for the simple reason that the man in power is corrupt and a friend of corrupt elements. That is why even Finance Bank is going under. The simple reason is that the owners of the bank are are enemies of the people in power. Chungu new very well that RBee was corrupt thus as sooon as RBee became President, Chungu was back in Zambia. Today, no one even mentions Chungu.
the originators of this same article are all ma Ru.bish.Go and cheat foo.ls not us.A thief is a thief and will remain the same even wen u paint her white.Bakabolala.Ukutumpa.
I quote, ‘But for now the learned judge Magistrate Kafunda will have to do a little bit more growing in his legal skills. For now this case shows that he still needs a little more time!’. Dear author of this article, due respect to Magistrate Kafunda would be well appreciated. I wonder where you aquired your scanty legal knowlege which has made you become big-headed. Whatever you do and write, these plunderers will never give you a job. The latest judgement came from Plot 1, period. WHO DOESN’T KNOW?
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I FEEL LIKE NOT READING ANYTHING WRITTEN BY THIS GUY. I AM KINDA SAYING HE IS HOPELESS, CHILDISH AND UNREALISTIC. MAN, FOLD YOUR TAIL AND STOP THIS R.U.B.B.I.S.H !!
AM SICK AND TIRED OF YOU.
This is Mwaba’s article…..at least he waited until the case was closed before he could defend his boss’s wife. Well done Malupenga for teaching this guy.
Levy, just wanted the TOSHIBA TV since he had none period!
I despair for a lot of you guys here. I bet few of you have read the whole judgement. If you have you would no doubt agree that regardless of whether Regina stole or received stolen property, her conviction was not sound in law. But then that is assuming you are capable of getting over your prejudices. I can go further and postulate that the prosecution were careless in the way they prosecuted the case because they were confident a conviction was already “in the bag”. Or how else would you explain their and the magistrate’s incompetence? My position does not assume Regina’s guilt or innocence. It’s just an objective observation. Anyone ready to debate with facts and not myths and unmoderated emotions may respond.
The courts can free somebody on technicalities, but the painful reality is that our former President has so many unanswered questions i.e $ 8million ”personal” money in a Government a/c….this is even before we look at the issues in the famous London Court case where close to $ 15 million was spent chasing the wind!
@Malaika,
I read the full judgment and I am willing to share it with those that want. I can’t agree with you more than that. The prosecution failed their job. Lets not blame the High Court Judges. Moreover, I am not saying Regina is innocent or guilty but I am looking at the case and the way it was handled.
# 12 you are wise. Yo analysis is wiser than Munshya wa Munshya’s biased and shallow analysis. A word of advise to Munsha, its better to keep quiet than exposing your shallow analysis.
Ftj is a changed person.He is a man of God.
It is ironic, that if I go and pick something from Statehouse, written State House on it, and no one reports it stolen then hey, I didnt steal it… thats what the courts are saying, what BS is that. This sort of nonsense will continue until the current nutt heads are no longer ruling. RB is the most incompetent man to lead a country and such cases are testament of that
Can’t wait fo God judgement’s day! there won’t be denying as everything will be on the big screen, as it were! YEEESSS!
I am not a legal mind so my debate is based on logic. Why do we arrest people when they are found with elephant tasks, or lion skin or any other govt trophy? Do we have anyone reporting these govt trophy stolen? No elephant or game ranger reports the trophy stolen yet we arrest and prosecute that found in possession of such trophy. I therefore apply the same logic to Regina! We do NOT need a complainant in this case. The only man who could have complained is FTJ, but since he is an accomplice, how could we expect him to report this TV stolen? The Judges should have considered this point of view.
Munsha whatever your name is, how did the police know about the TOSHIBA TV in possesion of Regina? The police arrested Regina because she was in possesion of the Government’s property, hence she was taken to court by the police, in this case the police themselves reported Regina to court and she was cocnvicted by the learned magistrate Charles Kafunda. Now because FTJ was acquited it became logic that even the one who received the stolen property should be acquited to balance the equation. The infact is that FTJ and Reginal Stole TV and other properties in question. God is watching.