AMOS CHANDA’S APPEAL RECORD GO MISSING AGAIN!
Lusaka, (17 February 2025)– Amos Chanda’s appeal hearing failed to take off in the High Court today because the file his lawyers submitted to the judge was missing from the Registry.
Lusaka High Court judge SITUMBEKO CHOCHO has since adjourned the matter to 24 March 2025 with a stern warning to State that she would proceed to hear the appellant whether the prosecution submits or not.
This followed an application by National Prosecutions Authority (NPA) prosecutor Bob Mwewa who sought the indulgence of the court to forgive the State for breaching the Orders for Directions she issued on 23 December 2024.
We apologise to the court that we did not submit our heads of arguments in opposition to the appellant because we thought he had not submitted his.
“We won’t belabour the the point and predicament we find ourselves in but we sincerely apologise. I conducted a search in the Criminal Registry on February 3. I was only given the record this morning from NPA. Again, we apologise,” Mr Mwewa submitted.
Justice Chocho then asked:” When you searched the Criminal Registry at the High Court, what did you find there?
Mr Mwewa:.” I found that the record, the appellant’s submissions were missing.”
Justice Chocho: ” Well, let me also say that even I was of the view that the appellant (Amos Chanda) did not file the heads of arguments but he did. Let me apologise on behalf of the Criminal Registry that the record was not there.”
Defence lawyers then produced the court- stamped copies of the submission and received copies from the NPA and reminded the court that they were in full compliance of the court’s Orders for Directions. The defence team indicated their readiness to proceed with the appeal trial.
“But sympathise with the predicament the State finds itself in and wish to state here that we are in full compliance with the orders of the court. We have proof of service duly acknowledged by this court and NPA on January 23,” said Mr Benjamin Mwelwa one of the lawyers for the appellant.
The judge then set March 24 for trial and warned that she would not adjourn the matter anymore.
“Let me make it clear to the State that I will proceed to hear the appellant whether the State submits or not. Defence, don’t mind the State, I will hear you at 9 hrs on March 24, 2025,” she said.
This is a matter in which Mr Chanda appealed against the conviction on allegations that he destroyed a court record.
Mr Chanda is contending among other grounds that court officials at the Lusaka Magistrates Court testified that the court record in question was neither stolen nor destroyed but merely missing from the Registry.
In another ground, Mr Chanda is arguing that the lower court misdirected itself in law and fact when it convicted him despite making a finding of fact he did not steal the record but possibly other unknown people did and gave it to him.
He argues that Magistrate Irene Wishimanga misdirected herself when she ignored critical evidence of three State witnesses from the Judiciary who testified that it was not possible for Mr Chanda to have removed the record from the Registry.
He also argues that the lower court was wrong to admit evidence from a device she herself said was tampered with by unknown people.
Mr Chanda also submits that it was erroneous for the Magistrate to admit contradictory evidence that showed that the alleged recording was done at 02:55 am on 30 Septemeber 2022 as submitted by ZICTA digital forensic experts as opposed to DEC investigators who alleged the recording was done around 22 hours the same day.
AMOS CHANDA’S APPEAL RECORD GO MISSING AGAIN!
