By PERPETUAL SICHIKWENKWE –
LUSAKA Principal Magistrate Obister Musukwa has recused himself from handling a case in which Patriotic Front (PF) Lusaka Province youth chairperson Kennedy Kamba is charged with proposing violence and unlawful assembly.
Mr Musukwa has since sent back Kamba’s case file to Chief Resident Magistrate Joshua Banda for re-allocation.
This is in a matter in which Kamba, 39, a business executive of Rockfield in Lusaka, is facing one count of proposing violence and unlawful assembly.
It is alleged that Kamba on November 7, 2013 in Lusaka, without lawful excuse to any assembly, did make a statement indicating or implying
that it would be incumbent or desirable to do any acts calculated to cause death or physical injury to any person or any class or community of persons namely, other PF members.
The magistrate did not give any reason for recusing himself but it was after he noted that there was interference with witnesses who were supposed to testify in the matter.
At the last sitting in December last year, Mr Musukwa had threatened to revoke bail granted to Kamba if it was proved that he was interfering with witnesses.
Mr Musukwa’s threats came after reports by the State that the defence was threatening witnesses who were now scared to appear in court to give evidence.
He ordered the prosecution to personally serve summons on the witnesses and not through their PF leaders and to further ensure that the witnesses were brought to court yesterday.
But when the matter came up yesterday, the State informed the court that although the summons had been served on the two witnesses Emmanuel Chola and Trevor Mushola who promised to be in court, the two were not present.
Arresting officer Kezzy Siame informed the court that Mr Chola’s phone was off while Mr Mushola told him that he could not be in court because the PF chairperson for Munali Constituency allegedly advised him not to go there because meetings were being held aimed at reconciling the parties outside court.
But defence lawyer Abraham Mwansa told the court that he was not aware of such arrangements and that the witnesses were duty-bound to appear in court.
The State at this point applied to have the PF Munali Constituency chairperson summoned to come and explain why he was telling witnesses
not to appear before court.
Mr Musukwa, who noted that although the defence was saying that they knew nothing, there were signs of interference.
He later recused himself and sent back the case to Mr Banda who is in charge of allocating cases to magistrates. Kamba’s case is expected to be allocated to another magistrate today.