Three Mpulungu harbour employees appear in court

The Mpulungu magistrate court has adjourned to September the matter in which three Mpulungu harbour cooperation employees are facing corrupt related offences.

The case involves former port manager Anthony Sichivula, who has been jointly charged with Charles Mubanga and David Chisi with 22 counts of fraudulent false accounting contrary to section 36 (A) (B) of the penal code.

Charles Mubanga is operations supervisor while David Chisi is documentation clerk at Mpulungu harbour corporation.

Particulars of the offence are that the accused jointly and whilst acting together with others unknown at Mpulungu harbour with intent to defraud, made or were privy to false entries by reducing, understating the tonnage on tally sheet numbers purporting to show that tonnes of maize were transported when in fact not.

In the other count, the trio was is facing a charge of destruction of evidence contrary to section 111 of the penal code CAP 87 of the laws of Zambia.

Facts before the court were that the trio and others on dates unknown but between 1^st October 2011 and 31^st December 2012 at Mpulungu Harbour jointly and whilst acting together with others unknown, being acting port manager, operations supervisor and documentation clerk respectively, willfully destroyed a parallel sheet and reduced tonnages of letters of transport register.

Testifying before the court today, two clearing agents denied ever having had full knowledge of the operations of the accused during the time they served at the harbour.

Drug Enforcement Commission (DEC) officers are prosecuting the matter whilst Sichivula, Mubanga and Chisi are being represented by Wilfred Mwenya from Lukona Chambers and Keith Katazo from the legal aid board respectively.

Mpulungu magistrate Passmore Mweetwa adjourned the matter to September 23, this year.