A witness has told the Lusaka Magistrates’ Court that NDC leader Chishimba Kambwili was not in any way involved in the incorporation of Mwamona Engineering and Technical Services.

James Nyasulu, 62, told the Lusaka Magistrate’s Court that he is the one who lodged the registration documents of Mwamona Engineering at PACRA on August 23, 2001 on behalf of Kambwili’s wife, Carol.

And on why the NRC number for Kambwili’s sister Sampa was reflecting under Mwamba Chishimba’s names on the incorporation documents, Nyasulo said the anomaly was caused by the person he had given to type the forms for him at a business center.

In this matter, it is alleged that on October 29, 2013, Kambwili with intent to defraud or deceive, forged a ‘no change return’ (companies form 71) purporting to show that it was genuinely signed by his son Mwamba when in fact not.

It is further alleged that on the same date, Kambwili knowingly and fraudulently uttered the same document to an officer at Patents and Companies’ Registration Agency (PACRA).

When the matter came up before Principal Resident Magistrate David Simusamba for continued defence, Tuesday, Nyasulu, a farmer of Chingola on the Copperbelt Province, testified that in 2001, Kambwili’s wife Carol, who was then a nurse at Nchanga South Hospital, asked him to help her take some company incorporation documents to PACRA.

He added that the company which she wanted to be incorporated was called Mwamona Engineering and Technical Services.

“I told her that I haven’t done that kind of job before but I will enquire from PACRA how we can register this company,” Nyasulu said.

He said he also informed Carol that he would consult some of his friends who had registered a company before.

Nyasulu said when he consulted one of his friends, he was given some forms to fill in which he took to Carol.

He said after taking the forms to Carol, she told him that she wanted three people (directors) indicated on the documents, being herself ‘Carol Chansa’, her son Mwamba Chishimba and her sister in law, Sampa Kambwili.

“I asked her why she wanted to register another company when they had other companies and she said ‘my husband at this time is in politics and mines are not giving him jobs. So I have seen that life will be hard for us because we have children’,” Nyasulu said.

He said Carol further told him that for the company that was going to be incorporated, she didn’t want the ‘Kambwili’ name to appear on any of the documents due to political interference.

Nyasulu said he then started off from Chingola, going to Lusaka.

He said when he arrived at PACRA, he was received by one of the workers at the customer service bench.

Nyasulu said after showing the documents to the said worker, he inquired if a minor could be part of the incorporating documents.

“That person asked if the parents were both Zambians and I said yes. They said this minor won’t be a child forever he will grow up,” he said.

The defence witness said he then called Carol who advised him to get new forms to fill in since he had been advised by the said worker at PACRA that a child could be part of a company.

He said Carol also told him that she wanted Sampa Kambwili removed from the documents because of the ‘Kambwili’ name.

Nyasulu said when he reached Chingola, Carol gave her permission to have the forms which he had collected from PACRA typed and to remove Sampa Kambwili.

He said when the forms were typed at a business center, Carol Chansa and Mwamba Chishimba were put as shareholders and directors of the company.

Nyasulu said after the documents were typed, Carol signed on the provision where her name was, adding that on the provision for Mwamba Chishimba, he indicated that he was a minor.

He said he then went back to PACRA where after paying, he was given a certificate of incorporation for Mwamona Engineering as well as other documents.

“I’m the one who lodged these documents [for the incorporation of Mwamona Engineering] at PACRA on August 23, 2001,” Nyasulu said.

The witness who was led in his evidence in chief by defence lawyer, Musa Mwenye State Counsel, denied that Kambwili was involved in the incorporation of the company.

He added that all the instructions relating to the incorporation of Mwamona Engineering were coming from Carol.

Asked by Mwenye who signed for Mwamba Chishimba, the defence witness said it was him.

Further asked by the defence lawyer why Sampa Kambwili’s NRC number was reflecting under Mwamba Chishimba’s names, Nyasulu said the anomaly was caused by the person he had given to type for him at the business center.

“I didn’t notice that the person who was typing the forms in Chingola had put Sampa’s NRC under Mwamba Kambwili’s name. I had instructed him to only indicate under Mwamba Kambwili’s name that he is a minor,” he said.

Asked in cross examination by the deputy Chief State Advocate Margaret Chitundu if there were any special reasons why Carol had asked him to incorporate the company, Nyasulu said it’s because he had his own company at that time.

He, however, said he doesn’t know the name of the person at PACRA who advised him that a minor could be a director as long as it was indicated on the documents that the person was a minor.

When Chitundu put it to him that Carol had previously testified that she herself filled in the documents, Nyasulu insisted that he was the one who took the documents for typing.

He also insisted that he didn’t notice that the person who had typed the forms had attached an NRC number under Mwamba Chishimba’s names.

Asked how long he had known Kambwili, Nyasulu said since 1995.

Defence continues on August 13 and 21, 2020.