Former Minister of Community Development and Social Services Emerine Kabanshi has taken fresh plea and denied two charges of willful failure to comply with the law and applicable procedure or guidelines relating to procurement involving the Social Cash Transfer programme.

This was after the State amended the particulars of the offence on the charge sheet.

Particulars of the offence in count one are that Kabanshi, between August 21, 2017, and April 26, 2018, in Lusaka, as a Minister concerned in the administration and management at the a Ministry of Community Development and Social Services, did willfully fail to comply with the law, applicable procedure and guidelines relating to procurement by extending the scope of coverage of contract number MCDSS/SP/10/2017 between ZamPost MCDSS to include three provinces and two districts under Social Cash Transfer programme.

In count two, it is alleged that Kabanshi, during the same period, did willfully fail to comply with the law, procedures and guidelines relating to procurement when re-engaging ZamPost as payment service provider under contract number MCDSS/10/2017 for Social Cash Transfer programme following the termination of the said contract.

When the matter came up for commencement of trial before Chief Resident Magistrate Lameck Mwale, Tuesday, deputy chief State advocate Gracilia Mulenga informed the Court that the State was ready to proceed into trial, but before that they wanted to amend the charge sheet.

And after Magistrate Mwale granted the application, he read out the amended charges to Kabanshi and thereafter, she denied the charges.

After she took plea, one of her lawyers, Katindo Mwale, applied to have the case adjourned on grounds that the lead counsel Jonas Zimba, was appearing before the Constitutional Court.

The Court granted the adjournment to today, Wednesday.