THE Law Association of Zambia (LAZ) has given Patriotic Front secretary general Wynter Kabimba seven days to respond to a complaint of alleged legal breaches filed by former Health deputy minister Solomon Musonda.

According to a letter dated June 30, 2010 signed by LAZ administrative assistant Sipelile Mwilwa and copied to Dr Musonda’s lawyer, Sunday Nkonde of SNB Legal Practitioners, Mr Kabimba has been told to respond to the complaint ahead of the hearing of the case.

“Please find enclosed herewith a copy of the complaint received against your firm. Kindly let us have your response within the next seven days from the date thereof,” stated Ms Mwilwa.

Mr Mwilwa was writing on behalf of LAZ’s legal practitioners committee which hears disciplinary cases.

“Please note that the committee may proceed to hear and determine the complaint in absence of your response,” the letter reads in part.

Dr Musonda has demanded that Mr Kabimba be punished following his letter to the DPP in which he wrote that Dr Musonda was charged with a minor offence instead of a more serious one.

He stated that Mr Kabimba should not have used expressions such as ‘deliberate use of firearm against the victim by Dr Musonda,’ ‘circumstances of the case are so obvious and clear’ and ‘this is a mockery of justice.’

Mr Kabimba had written a letter to the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) complaining that the charge of causing grievous bodily harm with intent to maim by the police against Dr Musonda were inappropriate and asked the DPP to review the case before trial commences.

Dr Musonda in his letter to LAZ protested that Mr Kabimba was a senior lawyer who should seek to protect the credibility of the judiciary instead of passing comments that were intended to reduce the respect the citizens have for the judicial system.

Dr Musonda, who is a medical doctor, was arrested after he allegedly shot a PF cadre Jack Munsaka after he attempted to block the motor vehicle he was driving.

He was charged with one count of causing grievous bodily harm with intent to maim, disfigure or disable contrary to section 224 of the penal code of the laws of Zambia which Mr Kabimba said was not appropriate.

In his letter of complaint, Dr Musonda has asked LAZ to investigate and punish Mr Kabimba for allegedly breaching the legal practitioners’ rules by writing to the DPP without recourse for the respect of the judiciary.

The Chitambo member of Parliament, based his complaint on an article that appeared in The Post newspaper of June 22, 2010 describing the charge against the former minister as a mockery of justice.

The letter dated June 22, 2010 and copied to Mr Nkonde, the president of LAZ and LAZ secretary, states that Mr Kabimba breached rule number 32 of the legal practitioners practice rules, of 2002 under statutory number 51.

Charging that the letter to the DPP was allegedly in bad taste, bad faith and likely to diminish public confidence in the legal profession and the administration of justice, Dr Musonda said the writing was prejudicial to the administration of justice.

The letter authored by Mr Kabimba to the DPP states that “as advocates for Mr Jackson Musaka, we would like to observe that the charge against the suspect in this matter is nothing but a ‘travesty’ of justice if you take into account the circumstances of the case and in particular the deliberate use of the firearm against the victim by Dr Musonda.”

He also said the suspect should have been charged with a more serious offence.

“In stating the above, we are not oblivious to the fact that under the Republican Constitution of our country you are not subject to any authority in the discharge of your duties as DPP,” Mr Kabimba states.

Mr Kabimba urged the DPP to review and amend the charge in the interest of justice before the commencement of trial.

On the letter by LAZ, Mr Kabimba said he had not yet seen the letter and would comment on the matter when he does so.

[ Times of Zambia ]

A 45-YEAR-OLD woman has told a local court that she suspects that her husband has been having an affair with his female cousin whom he brought into their matrimonial home to take care of his domestic needs.

Grace Sakala of Lusaka’s John Laing township said this in a case in which she sued her husband Diva Ng’uni, 60, of the same township, for divorce.

Sakala told the court that problems in their marriage started in 1998 when her husband started insulting her in the presence of the children and he decided to bring his cousin from the village.

She said Ng’uni referred to her (Sakala) as a useless woman and that he shifted from the matrimonial bedroom to the sitting room.

Sakala said Ng’uni started returning home late and he told her not to question where he had been, why he was returning home late and why he was sleeping in the sitting room.

She also said he stopped eating the food that she prepared for him and stopped making love to her.
Sakala said that this went on for 18 months.

“Every time I asked him why he refused to eat the food I prepared for him and to make love with me, his answer was: `I have a cousin whom I have called to come and make me happier than you do’,” Sakala said.
She said Ng’uni no longer loves her.

Sakala said she tried to have the matter resolved with the help of elders, but to no avail because in the presence of other family members Ng’uni pretends to be a good husband.
[pullquote]“Every time I asked him why he refused to eat the food I prepared for him and to make love with me, his answer was: `I have a cousin whom I have called to come and make me happier than you do’,” Sakala said.
She said Ng’uni no longer loves her.[/pullquote]

She said that a “few days ago” she found her husband dressing up in the spare bedroom used by his cousin. She said that Ng’uni also spends a lot of time with his cousin in the same room.

“I could not believe it because I regarded Ng’uni’s cousin as my own sister whom I trusted very much and consulted over various issues,” she said.

In defence, Ng’uni told the court that he did not have much to say because he was waiting for the court to formally grant divorce.

He said, however, that he has had many problems with Sakala apart from her being too lazy to cook and to do other household chores.

Ng’uni said his cousin from the village was already home and she would be taking care of the home.
Senior presiding magistrate Edward Tembo, sitting with magistrate Hildah Chonya, granted divorce and ordered Ng’uni to pay Sakala K6 million as compensation in monthly instalments of K200,000.
[ Sunday Mail ]

A 52-YEAR-OLD woman has asked the Lusaka Boma local court to grant her divorce because her husband allegedly keeps a magic snake in their matrimonial bedroom to boost his business.

This was heard in a case in which Easter Bwalya of Kaunda Square Stage II sued her husband, Johnston Chilekwa, 60, of the same township for divorce because he often threatens to kill her using his snake.

“Chilekwa also refuses to make love with me as he gets instructions from the snake. My husband tells me that this is for his business and that if I am unhappy about it I can leave him and go and live with my children,” she said.

Bwalya said Chilekwa has also told her that traditional healers have told him his snake should decide when he should make love.

She said sometimes he behaves like a mad person and threatens to kill her.
[pullquote]“Chilekwa also refuses to make love with me as he gets instructions from the snake. My husband tells me that this is for his business and that if I am unhappy about it I can leave him and go and live with my children,” she said.[/pullquote]
Bwalya said Chilekwa has also told her that if she continues to live with him, she will not know how death will strike her.

She said Chilekwa concentrates more on business than on his domestic responsibilities, including love-making.

“Every time I ask him why he refuses to make love with me, the answer is: `business first and things like sex come last because I have my boss who gives me instructions’,” she told the court.

Bwalya said Chilekwa’s strange behaviour started in 1997 when he got a shop at city market. He now has three shops.

Bwalya also said that she once found some charms in the house and Chilekwa told her that they were for boosting his business and that she should not reveal this to anyone.

She said in 2007, Chilekwa began to behave like a mad person and would chase her from home. She would later return home but before long, he would chase her again.

“I am tired of my husband’s behaviour. I cannot continue living like this. Every time he chases me, I go to my daughter’s place,” Bwalya said.

She said this pattern of living continued until she eventually moved out permanently and stopped talking about her husband’s business.

Bwalya said she tried to have the matter resolved with the help of her husband’s relatives, but to no avail.
She said that she now wants the court to grant her divorce.

In defence, Chilekwa told the court that he loves Bwalya very much and he is not ready to divorce her.
Chilekwa said Bwalya is a quiet and understanding woman and that he would not want to lose her.

He said, however, that all that Bwalya had stated as her reasons for wanting a divorce was not true.
Chilekwa said Bwalya just likes staying with their daughter.

In passing her judgment, senior presiding magistrate Elipher Mwewa warned Chilekwa that charms are a source of marriage breakdowns.

Magistrate Mwewa, who was sitting with senior magistrate Gastone Kalala and Martha Tembo, granted divorce and ordered that Chilekwa pays Bwalya K15 million for maintenance in monthly instalments of K500,000.

[ Sunday mail ]

The foundation for democratic process FODEP has challenged the electoral commission of Zambia ECZ to quickly address the financial impediments that are negatively impacting the continuous Voter Registration Process (VRP).

Recently it was reported that the process which has less than 75 days to go, was in Monze brought to a halt owing to inadequate resources.
FODEP information officer, McDonald Chipenzi warned that if the commission does not give this matter the deserved attention, there is a great possibility that the registration process will not attain its intended goal.

He said that the ECZ should be ready to deal with all the issues that come up in the process in order to ensure that the country reaches its intended goal.

Mr. Chipenzi also indicates that it is important for the commission to be alert and realize that this year’s registration process started on a very low note and the only way to successfully sustain it is by ensuring that it stays adequately funded.

He pointed out that if the ECZ missed this opportunity to get Zambians registered, the after effects of such a decision will only be felt in 2011.
But the effects will be too drastic for the commission to reverse and therefore action should be taken now.

ECZ has also failed to fund the Zambia News Agency (ZANIS) which has the mobile public address system in all the districts through out the country.

Currently most rural places are not aware about the voter registration exercise and in some district ECZ has opted to higher private companies to conduct the publicity instead of using free equipment from ZANIS.
[ QFM ]

Vice-President George Kunda has assured donors of governments commitment to prudently and to effectively use of financial resources.

The Vice- President said the recent reaction against the donor community was a result of the failure by some diplomats to follow the channels of communicating their concerns to Government.

Mr Kunda said Government is committed to good governance, in particular the fight against corruption, adding that it is the reason co-operating partners have continued to render support to Zambia.

The Vice-President said this in Parliament yesterday in response to a question from Mandevu member of Parliament (MP) Jean Kapata (PF).

Ms Kapata wanted to know the current relationship between Government and donors.

Mr Kunda said the relationship between Government and its co-operating partners is warm.

He said co-operating partners have pledged to continue providing financial, material and technical help to Zambia, adding that the relationship will continue to flourish.

“You might have heard in today’s (yesterday) newspapers that the co-operating partners have pledged to continue supporting this country’s developmental programmes. So, you can see that our relationship with donors is still sound,” he said.

Mr Kunda said President Banda’s recent statement about the donor community related to diplomatic etiquette.
[pullquote]
“You might have heard in today’s (yesterday) newspapers that the co-operating partners have pledged to continue supporting this country’s developmental programmes. So, you can see that our relationship with donors is still sound,” he said.[/pullquote]

He accused some diplomats of issuing threats to Government through the media.

Mr Kunda said there are established diplomatic channels through which diplomats can engage Government.

“Let us at all times observe the diplomatic etiquette according to the Geneva Convention. This is what President Banda was talking about recently,” Mr Kunda said.

And Mr Kunda said Government is revising the law on corruption to take into account past experiences.
He said Government is reviewing the law so that corruption cases can be effectively tackled.

Mr Kunda said this in response to a question from Katuba MP Jonas Shakafuswa (MMD), who wanted to know why section 37 of the Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) Act relating to abuse of office has been left out in the revised version.

Mr Kunda said he was not aware of Mr Shakafuswa’s claims.

He wondered where Mr Shakafuswa acquired that information when the bill has not yet been tabled before Parliament.

Mr Kunda said it is a criminal offence for any individual to access information which is classified.

He said when the bill is presented to Parliament, MPs will be accorded a chance to submit their comments, adding that it is prejudicial for any MP to make judgement based on a document which has not yet been tabled before the House.

And Mr Kunda said Government is looking for resources to fund the National Constitutional Conference (NCC) to enable it to complete its work.

The Vice-President said this in response to a question by Kalomo UPND MP Request Mutanga, who wanted to know what Government is doing to source funds for the completion of the Constitution-making process.

The NCC on Thursday announced that it requires funding to enable it to publish copies of the draft Constitution to enable members of the public to submit comments.

Mr Kunda said the Constitution-making process is on course, and that Government is doing everything possible to ensure the NCC is adequately funded.

And Mr Kunda said Government regrets the anomalies experienced in the printing of some pay slips for civil servants, resulting in delayed payment of salaries for June.

He said the authorities responsible are doing everything possible to correct the anomalies so that affected workers are paid.

Mr Kunda said this in response to a question from Katombora UPND MP Regina Musokotwane, who wanted to know what Government is doing to ensure workers are paid their salaries.

And Mr Kunda said it is the intention of Government to buy as much maize as possible from farmers in this year’s marketing season.

He said the Food Reserve Agency has been unable to buy maize from some parts of the country mainly because the moisture content of maize is still high.

Mr Kunda said this in response to a question from Pemba UPND MP David Matongo, who wanted to know why FRA has not started buying maize in some districts.

But Mr Kunda said the high moisture content of maize in some parts of the country has slowed down the buying exercise by FRA.

He said as soon as the moisture content meets the required standard, FRA will buy the maize.

And Mr Kunda said the continuous mobile voters’ registration by the Electoral Commission of Zambia will be conducted in all the polling stations across the country.

He said all the polling stations will be captured as the exercise is mobile and continuous.

Mr Kunda said this in response to Chipili PF MP Davies Mwila, who questioned why ECZ has selected a few polling stations to conduct the exercise.
Meanwhile, Mr Kunda said the 7.8 percent inflation rate which the country has recorded will have a positive impact on the economy.

He said the drop in inflation is likely to result in more lending facilities and reduced interest rate.
Mr Kunda was responding to a question by Bahati PF MP Besa Chimbaka, who asked what effect the drop in inflation will have on the economy.
[ Zambia Daily Mail ]