. Mwale

By PERPETUAL SICHIKWENKWE –
A POLICE officer has told the court that eight out of the 20 bicycles that former Mines and Minerals Development deputy minister Borniface Nkhata is alleged to have stolen were recovered from his house.
Detective chief inspector Peter Bwalya said that he arrested former minister Maxwell Mwale and Nkhata after investigations because they each stole 20 bicycles from the Government.
The bicycles were meant for small-scale miners dealing in HIV/AIDS issues in Malambo and Chama districts of Eastern Province.
Mr Bwalya said Nkhata admitted to collecting the 20 bicycles from the Chipata Mines office and distributed them to villagers, including two chiefs, while he kept some in his house.
This is in a matter in which Mwale and Nkhata are separately charged with theft by public servant involving 20 bicycles each. The 40 bicycles were valued at K22,000.
Mr Bwalya told the court that Nkhata lead them to the recovery of eight Sunshine bicycles from his house while the other one was recovered from another person he had given.
He said the officers failed to recover the other bicycles because the roads were impassable.
Mr Bwalya said no bicycle was recovered from Mwale and that he opted to remain silence during questioning about the theft of the bicycles.
He said that on January 4, 2012 whilst in the field, he got information that Government bicycles, through the Ministry of Mines, had been stolen at the Chipata office.
Mr Bwalya said he travelled to Eastern Province where he carried out investigations and discovered that 20 bicycles had been collected by Nkhata, while the other 20 were collected by Boston Zimba, who was in the company of Mwale.
He said the bicycles were meant for small-scale miners dealing in HIV/AIDS programmes.
Mr Bwalya said that when he interviewed Nkhata in Chama, he admitted collecting the 20 bicycles but said he distributed them to the villagers.
He said that out of the 20 bicycles collected by Nkhata, only nine were recovered and he submitted them to the court as part of his evidence.
Mr Bwalya said Nkhata also informed him that it was the former permanent secretary at the ministry who informed him that 20 bicycles were allocated to him, 20 to Mwale and another 20 to former Mines
minister Gabriel Namulambe.
He said Mwale and Nkhata had no legal right to collect the bicycles and that it was not their responsibility.
Mr Bwalya said that no bicycle was recovered from those allegedly stolen by Mwale.