THE ‘gold scam’ court case, now Espionage, has taken another twist.
This time, one of the 11 accused, businessman Shaderick Kasanda, has told the Lusaka Magistrate’s Court that some Enforcement Commission (DEC) officers demanded US$10million.
He said the officers had also taken him to a bank in Kabulonga and asked him to give them K5million failure to which they would slap him with an aggravated robbery charge on top of Espionage that he is already charged with.
Mr Kasanda also informed the court that the officers told him that if he and his 10-co-accused, who include six Egyptians, fail to release the US$10million, they would rot in jail.
He was giving evidence is a case he and 10 others are charged with Espionage following their arrest by DEC during the thwarted gold scam at Kenneth Kaunda International Airport (KKIA) which saw confiscation of some metals initially thought to be gold, private jet and US$5million.
But on Wednesday, Kasanda was missing before court while all the accused were present, prompting the court to issue summons against the persons believed to have been in the custody of the accused.
When the case resumed before Lusaka chief resident magistrate Davies Chibwili, one of the defence lawyers, Makebi Zulu, asked DEC senior investigations officer Lydia Chisanga to explain what happened at the holding cell on Wednesday where Kasanda was before he was picked up.
Ms Chisanga explained that a group of seven paramilitary officers went to the holding cell and informed her that they had been instructed to pickup Kasanda but that when they wanted to go inot the cells, she stopped them because they were armed.
But she explained that they insisted and picked him up and led him into a bus around the Lusaka Magistrate’s ground.
At this point, Mr Zulu asked if she was that Kasanda was under warrant and was to appear in court at 14:00 on that day.
In response, Ms Chisanga said ‘Yes’.
She further said that after sometime, some officers alerted her that Kasanda had been taken to the command centre.
Mr Zulu then asked Ms Chisanga as to whose authority she handed over his client to the ‘paramilitary’ officers, to which she responded that she never handed him over but that “they picked him”.
At this point, Mr Zulu asked Kasanda to give his side of the story to which he explained that contrary to the testimony by Ms Chisanga, he was actually picked up by five DEC officers who dragged him from the holding cell into a bus.
“She [Ms Chisanga] was present when I was being dragged to the bus and there was no paramilitary officer. There were only DEC officers,” he narrated.
Kasanda said that Ms Chisanga earlier called him and told him that his relatives wanted to see him before leading him to the bus where he was picked from.
Kasanda said the DEC officers on the bus were Sydney Mukulebai, a Mr Anderson, Isaac Daka and Marvin Kanganja
He said that he was driven to FNB [bank] in Kabulonga so that he can withdraw K5million and give the DEC officers failure to which they would charge him with armed robbery.
Kasanda said that he refused before he was driver back to the command centre while he was being dragged and beaten.
“I was put in a room at the command centre where I was alone. I refused to talk and asked for my lawyer to come because the torture was too much,” he said.
He said, while trying hard not to cry, that he was told that the US$10million was not given to the officers, he and others would rot in jail.
The court heard that Kasanda’s lawyers later arrived at the command centre and the accused was later taken back to Chimbokaila(Lusaka Central Correctional Facility].
The matter continues tomorrow.
(Mwebantu, Thursday, 31st August, 2023)
