Deputy Minister Steven Masumba refutes NIPA diploma forgery allegations

SPORTS Deputy Minister Steven Masumba has testified before the Lusaka magistrate’s court that he was honestly awarded with the diploma he is alleged to have forged because he successfully completed his
accounting course.
Masumba told Principal Magistrate Wilfred Muma that it was painful to be accused of things he did not know.
He said the diploma in question was genuinely given to him by the National Institute of Public Administration (NIPA) because he passed all the three levels.
Masumba, 31, of NAPSA Housing Units, Ibex Hill, is charged with one count of obtaining pecuniary advantage by false pretenses contrary to the Laws of Zambia.
But in opening his defense yesterday, Masumba refuted the allegations saying there were not only untrue  but also unfounded.
He said this was so because according to his full knowledge, the diploma in contention was awarded to him in an honest manner because he successfully completed the course contrary to NIPA‘s claims that he failed the examinations.
Masumba who produced before court a copy of his statement of results which he said he allegedly struggled to ‘fish’ out from Mwinilunga Trades Training Institute said he qualified in the entire course the reason why he was awarded with the certificate.
He said the statement of result prod uced by NIPA was not correct because it had a irregularities.
Masumba said contrary to the allegations, he amassed 82 percent in basic accounting level one while in level two he obtained 72 percent and not 38 and 57 percent as was alleged respectively.
He also refuted claims by NIPA that he was absent in some subjects in the third level and maintained that he sat for all the levels.
Masumba said the statement he produced before court was signed by  NIPA examiner Clive Kawana whom he would call as one of his two witnesses.
He continues to defend himself on May 9, 2013.