.MASEBO

By XAVIER MANCHISHI –

LAWYERS representing the petitioner in the tribunal set up to probe Tourism and Arts minister Sylvia Masebo’s alleged interference at the Zambia Wildlife Authority (ZAWA) yesterday complained of difficulties in accessing documents and witnesses from ZAWA.
On Monday, the petitioner Mr William Harrington attempted to raise the same complaint but was curtailed because his lawyers had already made a submission to subpoena more witnesses apart from the 12 earlier indicated.
Mr Harrington’s lead counsel, Gilbert Phiri told the tribunal that his team was facing difficulties getting documents subpoenaed from ZAWA despite sending them a list of documents they want to use as evidence.
“This is the point the first witness Mr Harrington was trying to put across yesterday. My Lady we are facing difficulties in getting some of the documents we have requested for from ZAWA including witnesses,” Mr Phiri said.
The complaint came up when one of the defence lawyers Robert Simeza questioned why the tribunal was availed a letter from the Zambia Public Procurement Agency (ZPPA) without attaching the corresponding letter it was in response to.
When former ZAWA manager for Game Management, Melody Zeko took the stand, she referred to a letter she wrote to ZPPA on whether chiefs should be part of the evaluation process for bids for hunting concession licences but only the response was laid on the table.
But defence lawyer Bonaventure Mutale blamed it on the order in which the petitioners were calling their witnesses arguing that had ZAWA Director General, Xen Vlahakis been the first to take the stand, the complainant’s counsel would have asked for the necessary documents from him.
Tribunal chairperson, acting Supreme Court Judge Rhoyda Kaoma also wondered why the complainant’s counsel had not lodged an official complaint about their failure to access documents from ZAWA, much less witnesses.
“The tribunal cannot tell the complainant the order their witnesses should appear but how is it that it is only getting to the attention of the tribunal now that some documents the complainant’s counsel wanted to present have not been availed,” she said.
Earlier, Ms Zeko testified how Ms Masebo asked ZAWA to include chiefs and Community Resource Board (CRB) chairpersons in the evaluation process for bids for hunting concession licences when the process had already started.
She told the tribunal that, during the period she acted as ZAWA Director General in place of Mr Edwin Matokwani, she had a meeting with Ms Masebo where she expressed misgivings to the minister about including chiefs because of the cost it was going to attract.
Another witness Rose Chivumba submitted that she was supposed to be part of the evaluation committee but that her husband fell sick and subsequently died and that she has suffered emotional stress to remember some of the details she was being asked by the defence
lawyers.
Maison Phiri and Daniel Ngoma, who represented Kakumbi and Jumbe CRBs respectively in the evaluation process both, submitted that the ban on hunting had led to an increase in poaching in their areas as well as the animal and human conflict.
The sittings continue today.