Kasama Principal Resident Magistrate Obister Musukwa sitting in Lusaka on Tuesday June 25, 2013 revealed that he has a backlog of other cases waiting to be heard in Mpulungu and Mporokoso and other towns in Northern province as a result of the more than one month he has been in Lusaka attending to cases that have been allocated to him.
He made the revelation just before adjourning the matter involving former Information and Broadcasting Services minister Ronnie Shikapwasha, freelance journalist Chanda Chimba, III and former Information and Broadcasting Services permanent secretary Samson Phiri.
Reacting to sentiments by one of the defence lawyers Hobday Kabwe that it may not be easy to stick to the agreed dates set for July and August 2013 because of other matters that may arise in the High Court and Supreme Court, magistrate Musukwa reminded Kabwe that much as due regard is given to the higher courts, the higher courts are mindful of the challenges faced by the subordinate courts as they all fall under the same judiciary.
Earlier, a witness told the court how he previewed the first episode of Chimba’s Stand Up for Zambia on instructions from Juliana Mwila who was the acting Director General of the Zambia National Broadcasting Corporation, ZNBC.
Philimon Songolo, who was the corporation secretary at the time the documentary started airing on ZNBC, told the court that sometime in December 2009 Mwila summoned him to her office to discuss the production that had been brought in for airing.
“The acting director general wanted my views on the suitability of the production for running by ZNBC. To assess the suitability of the production we went to the studios, myself, Oswald Mutale who was Controller TV then if am not mistaken and the Director of Programmes Mr. Rueben Kajokoto. There was another person, a technician whose name I can’t remember but whose role was to assist us run the machine,” Songolo, who is presecution witness number two, PW2, told the court though he seemed mixed up with dates.
The witness added that the CD or DVD that was brought in by the producers was titled Stand Up for Zambia.
“It was produced by a production house, I can’t remember the spelling but it was Phibajo Productions and the principal producer of the production house who did it was Mr. Chanda Chimba, III,” he said.
Songolo further told the court in his continued evidence-in-chief that after previewing the CD/DVD his professional judgment as an advocate was that in the absence of proof of what Chimba was alleging the documentary was libelous.
Songolo said there were a number of individuals mentioned. “One of the very first was a mention of Mutembo Nchito. There was also a mention of Michael Sata, the current Head of State. There was also mention of the Post Newspapers and there was also mention of Fred M’membe and other people,” he said.
Songolo also told the court that ZNBC had resolved to stop running the programme especially after Nchito, M’membe and Sata sued the corporation.
“That didn’t go down well with political leadership at the ministry. Political leadership then was Rev. Lt. Gen. Ronnie Shikapwasha,” he said.
Songolo also revealed that sometime in October 2010, he received a phone call late in the night from then ZNBC board chairperson Augustine Seyuba.
“He told me, this Chanda Chimba production you people are stopping from running is creating problems and you Songolo must tell the Hon. Minister why you are telling your colleagues in production to stop the programme,” he said.
The witness further told the court that he informed Seyuba that in the ZNBC set up the corporation secretary had no direct contact with the minister as he was too junior and therefore suggested that it would be useful if a board meeting was held at the ministry so that the board could explain to the minister the position of ZNBC.
According to Songolo, the meeting was called and held at the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting Services and on the agenda was among other issues Stand Up for Zambia.
Songolo said, “We went to the ministry, I called the board members, those who were available and that meeting was held at the ministry. I think it was in Gen. Shikapwasha’s office.”
Songolo said at that board meeting, in which the permanent secretary Sam Phiri kept on going in and out, he repeated his view that in the absence of proof the documentary was libelous and that he was totally uncomfortable with ZNBC going ahead with airing the programme.
He went on to tell the court that in that meeting, he also requested the minister to cover ZNBC by way of a letter coming out of the ministry that they would pick up the legal bills as a result of being sued by Nchito, M’membe and Sata and that ZNBC should go ahead to run the programmes despite professional advice to the contrary.
When the witness tried to say something to the effect that Gen. Shikapwasha had said something in the meeting, defence lawyer Kabwe representing Gen. Shikapwasha raised an objection.
Kabwe wanted the court to stop the witness from disclosing information he discussed with Gen Shikapwasha in that meeting since it appeared he had gone there as a lawyer to advise the minister.
“Your honour, the witness here is a special witness. He is a professional lawyer and the undertaking that he has taken from his client ZNBC is very specific with regard to his other client the ministry or other parties like the minister who have not, assuming those allegations are true, made a writing like ZNBC have done,” Kabwe submitted.
He wanted the objection sustained because he believed it bordered on trust and confidentiality between the witness and Shikapwasha.
The state however countered the objection and said it was misplaced and without merit.
The court could not sustain the objection by the defence as it found no legal relationship between accused number one, A1, Shikapwasha and PW2 Songolo.
Trial continues on July 16 and 19, 2013.
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