The Defense has completed its cross-examination of the key witness from the Anti-Corruption Bureau in a case where three politically influential individuals stand accused of tampering with a fuel supply contract in 2020-2021.
Newton Kambala, former Minister of Energy, Enoch Chihana, President of Alliance for Democracy, and Chris Chaima Banda, a presidential aide, were arrested by the Anti-Corruption Bureau for allegedly interfering with Helen Buluma, the then Deputy Chief Executive Officer of NOCMA and a crucial witness for the state to award fuel supply contracts to Finergy Petroleum limited.
Over the course of 12 days, six defense lawyers rigorously questioned Buluma in an attempt to discredit the evidence presented by the state against the accused trio.
Buluma provided the court with audio recordings captured during her encounters with the three individuals.
In an interview with MIJ Online, Wapona Kita, one of the defense lawyers, stated that the defense team has fulfilled its role, leaving the decision on whether the accused have a case to answer to the court.
“So far, so good. We are satisfied with the way the cross-examination has gone. I think we have fulfilled all that we wanted to fulfill. The whole point of cross-examining is to show that the elements of the offence have not been satisfied. It is also to show that she has been inconsistent throughout her evidence” said Kita.
On the other side, Martha Chizuma, Director General of the Anti-Corruption Bureau, asserted that the bureau’s evidence remained unchallenged during the cross-examination.
She mentioned that during the forthcoming re-examination, the bureau would simply clarify certain
“From where we are sitting today, after being cross-examined for twelve plus days, we are not worried at all. The issues that we brought to court have not been challenged in any way, and we remain confident of our case,” said Chizuma.
According to the ACB, the three conspired to influence NOCMA to award contracts of 2020/2021 fuel supply for the advantage of Finergy and Trafigura Fuel companies.
Chief Resident Magistrate Madalitso Chimwaza adjourned the proceedings until June 17th-19th, 2024, when the Anti-Corruption Bureau will conduct the re-examination of Buluma.
