Court Hears IBA Funds Were Deposited into…

The Lusaka High Court has heard testimony regarding how funds associated with the Independent Broadcasting Authority (IBA) were deposited into bank accounts belonging to murder accused Samuel Basa Dokowe. The evidence was presented during the ongoing trial of four individuals: police officers M’Thusani Dokowe and Caleb Zulu, systems engineer Samuel Basa Dokowe, and accountant Francis Chipyoka. The quartet is accused of abducting and murdering IBA Director General Guntila Muleya in July 2024.

Muleya was abducted and later found shot dead in Chongwe’s Njolwe area. Prior to his death, he had reportedly ordered an audit of the IBA’s finances. In court, a Zanaco bank official, Kamwenje Kayang’a, detailed how substantial sums of money were deposited into a company account for which Samuel Dokowe was a signatory.

According to her testimony, the deposits were labeled in a manner suggesting they were payments to the Zambia Revenue Authority (ZRA), though the funds were credited to Dokowe’s account. Kayang’a stated that the account received K487,356.51 on June 3, 2024, with K300,000 withdrawn the following day. Further withdrawals occurred in the subsequent days.

[paywall]

Another deposit of K487,356.51 was made on June 7, each followed by large withdrawals, sometimes on the same day. She further testified that the account was used for international transactions, including one amounting to K90,287.83, and that funds were spent in Johannesburg. Deposits, often in identical amounts, continued throughout June and July, with hundreds of thousands of kwacha being quickly withdrawn or transferred each time.

Kayang’a stated that her role was to confirm the transactions, not to investigate their purpose. A second bank official, Choolwe Solomon Hamweemba from Indo Zambia Bank, testified about another account held in Dokowe’s name. He stated that this account also received significant deposits, some originating from the IBA and others labeled “Independent BRO.” According to Hamweemba, the money was typically withdrawn within hours or days through large cash withdrawals.

He provided an example of a deposit of K676,590.01 made in September 2023, which was followed by withdrawals of K275,000, K328,000, and K54,000 within a short period. Hamweemba told the court that most of the funds deposited into this account appeared to come from the IBA or related sources. The State has suggested that these financial transactions may be connected to Muleya’s murder, given that he had called for an audit shortly before his death. The trial continues.

[/paywall]