. MATAKA

By PERPETUAL SICHIKWENKWE –
THE Lusaka magistrate’s court yesterday gave former Zambia Daily Mail deputy managing director Davies Mataka the benefit of  the doubt after he failed to appear in court for continued trial.
This is in a matter in which Mataka is jointly charged with former Information and Broadcasting Services permanent secretary Sam Phiri, consultant Ngande Mwanajiti with the offence of diverting K195,000 from the public media support fund.
When the matter was called for continued trial before principal magistrate Aridah Chuulu yesterday, the State informed the court that Phiri and Mwanajiti were in court but their co-accused Mataka was not present.
The prosecutor said there was no information given to him as to why Mataka and his defence lawyer Sunday Nkonde were not before court.
Ms Chuulu said she could not issue a bench warrant against Mataka but instead gave him the benefit of doubt.
She encouraged other parties to inform Mataka and his lawyer about the adjournment of the matter to Wednesday.
Phiri, Mataka, and Mwanajiti are alleged to have fraudulently and unlawfully diverted K195, 000, public media support fund from the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting Services for the production and printing of a private newspaper known as The Zambian.
In count two, Mwanajiti is alleged to have unlawfully caused printing and publishing of The Zambian without it being registered with the director of the National Archives Department.