A NEWS DIGGERS Investigation has revealed that former ZNBC broadcaster Faith Musonda’s company OCK Investment limited owns the house in which police found K65.3 million and US$57,000 last month.
The investigation has also revealed that the money which was found in the house can be traced to the Bank of Zambia, even though the circumstances under which the cash was dispatched to commercial banks and diverted remain unclear.
It has also been established that the police interrogation that lasted approximately 9 hours on September 23, 2021 did not yield any tangible results as Musonda refused to answer questions paused to her until police were called to stop the interrogation.
Meanwhile, the investigation has further shown that Musonda is a director and shareholder in nine different companies, two of which she jointly owns with Brian Mundubile and Yamfwa Mukanga.
About Faith Musonda
Born on 31 December 1985, Musonda goes by five different names. Her national registration card carries Margaret Chisela Musonda, but she also uses Faith Chitulangoma on some documents and transactions.
Musonda currently works as Head Of Corporate Communications at Export Trading Group, but she has also served as Communication and Public Relations Manager of ZDA between 2018 and 2020. Prior to that, Musonda also worked at the Zambia National Broadcasting Corporation, where she earned her public image as a broadcaster.
The K65 million ‘treasure house’
According to records at the Ministry of Lands, the house where police found the money sits on a title deed under certificate number CT_79078 in New Kasama area. The records showed that the title holder for the property is a company called OCK Investments Limited.
The Patents and Companies Registration Agency (PACRA) lists Maraget Chisela Musonda and Miyanda Mulambo as directors and shareholders, whereby Musonda owns 9,000 shares while her partner owns 1,000 shares.
The company was registered on September 16, 2016 and is situated at Number 5970 Flat number 4, Benakale Road in Northmead Lusaka.
A further check at the Lands registry found that before the house was built, land belonged to Kingstone Makungu, who is recorded as the assignor, while OCK Investment Limited appears as the Assignee and new title holder as at March 18, 2020.
The farm is listed under property number L/11279/M/B4 and the subdivision where OCK built the house is an area of 2,025 square meters.
Other records at Ministry of Lands showed that Musonda is linked to property number L/9367/M which was leased to a Denvor Mudenda by the President of Zambia in 2018, with a narration “State Lease”, as shown in the diagram. The Property was then offered to Musonda.
Musonda’s companies and links to PF
Records at PACRA show that Musonda is a director and shareholder in nine companies with the following names:
1.Covenant broadcasting
2.Ock investments limited
3.Rainbow Promise Academy
4.Vintage Service
5.Goldore company limited
6.Sela Property investment limited
7.Muntayalwa investment limited
8.Clear icon media consultants
9 Spick and Span Launromat services
The search revealed that Musonda jointly owns Muntayalwa investment limited with former government chief whip and North Western Minister in the PF administration Brian Mundubile with equal shares of 7,500 each. The company was registered December 20, 2018.
Musonda also jointly owns Spick and Span Launromat services with former Works and Supply minister Yamfwa Mukanga. The company was registered on March 13, 2009 and is located at Sheridan Court Chilubi Road Nipa area.
Last month, PF vice-president Given Lubinda said the fact that Musonda was aligned to the Patriotic Front did not mean the money found in her possession belonged to the former ruling party.
“I can’t imagine how many Zambians could be aligned to the PF, they are many. And if a person is aligned to the PF, do we therefore know their dealings? No, we wouldn’t. That is not a matter of concern to the Patriotic Front, it’s not. It is a matter to do with one individual citizen and why people are aligning her to us, I don’t know. I have no clue my friend. If somebody says that money is PF money or if she has said it’s PF money, then you can come to us. But simply to say ‘she is aligned to the PF’ so what, what should we do?” wondered Lubinda.
Source of the K65 million
News Diggers was not able to independently verify Musonda’s bank records, but reliable sources have told News Diggers that she does not have the turnover income that can support her possession of over K65 million.
The sources explained that the money that was found in Musonda’s possession had the Central Bank packaging with markings indicating that it has been dispatched to named commercial banks. The sources narrated that the money looked brand new and seemed unused since it was printed.
“Officials from the Central Bank who are helping with the investigation have confirmed that the money originated from the Central Bank. It seems it was dispatched to some commercial banks, but it is not clear whether it was then moved from the commercial banks or it was diverted before,” the sources narrated.
However, the Central Bank issued a statement on September 23, distancing itself from Musonda’s millions.
“The Bank of Zambia has noted with concern allegations circulating in some sections of the media suggesting that bank officials were ordered to withdraw huge amounts of cash from the bank to distribute to third parties. The Bank wishes to dispel these allegations in the strongest terms and state that they are false and unfounded. As reported by the Zambia Police, the money recovered in Lusaka was found packed in travelling bags and had to be transferred to the Bank of Zambia for safe keeping. This therefore necessitated the use of lockable and sealable trunks to safely transport the money from the point of seizure to the Bank,” read the statement.
The Police Interrogation
The investigation revealed that Musonda has not given police any progressive answers regarding the source of the money found in her possession.
Sources have told News Diggers that police spent hours posing questions to Musonda but she refused to answer.
“The interrogation took long because she was being asked about other transactions that are connected to her. So by the time that police now wanted to know the source of the money, that is when she complained that she was feeling sick,” sources said.
The sources said the interrogation ended without police recording a warn and question statement because they received orders not to proceed with the interrogation.
Since her appearance at the police on September 23, Musonda has not been called back and police have not given an update on the matter.
Musonda is being represented by Lusaka lawyers Makebi Zulu and Jonas Zimba.
