The Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP), Gilbert Phiri, and the Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) have indicated their intention to appeal against the acquittal of Livingstone Mayor Constance Muleabai on corruption charges.
In this matter, Ms. Muleabai was accused of soliciting K120,000 and corruptly obtaining K180,000 cash gratification from Mark Gabites as an inducement to facilitate a 100 percent remission of property rates owed by Zam Nuka Farm Limited to the Livingstone City Council, which had accumulated to over K388,000.
Although Magistrate Trevor Kasanda found that solicitation had occurred, he held that the prosecution did not discharge its burden of proof in demonstrating that the accused solicited the sum of K120,000 from Mark Gabites, who was also a witness in the case.
Magistrate Kasanda further found that the prosecution had established that the accused corruptly obtained the sum of K180,000.
However, the evidence did not prove that the money was obtained from Mr. Mark Gabites as alleged in the indictment.
Instead, the court found that the funds were sourced from Oliver Perry and subsequently passed through another person, Monde Sumbwa, before reaching the accused.
Following the court’s decision, the appellants have raised six grounds of appeal.
Among them is that the court erred in law by failing to apply the provisions of Section 77(2) of the Anti-Corruption Act No. 3 of 2012 when it acquitted the accused, despite there being prima facie evidence of the commission of an offence under Section 20(1).
The appellants have also argued that the court erred in law when it found that corrupt solicitation had occurred but proceeded to acquit the accused on the basis that the prosecution had failed to establish a nexus between the accused and Mark Gabites in respect of the amounts cited in the counts.
By Josias Muuba
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