Lusaka Magistrate Reports The Nchito Brothers To LAZ As Three Directors Of Ultimate Insurance Get Locked Up.
Lusaka Magistrate Alice Walusiku has locked up three Directors for absconding criminal court. This is in the case of three Marshlands Directors: Tobia Milambo 48, a chartered insurer of Woodlands, Nachi Musonda aged 33 years and Richard Lubemba aged 31, who are appearing in court charged with fraud and forgery.
The Court has also ruled their defense lawyers led by Mr. Nchima Nchito SC tendered false medical records in the Lusaka Magistrate Court to justify the absence of one of the accused persons, Nachi Musonda. This came to light when the court summoned medical experts from CIDRZ Lab and Levy Mwanawasa Hospital to court to establish and confirm on the authenticity of the medical record.
In his submission to court to argue the absence of Musonda, defence lawyer, Nchima Nchito, stated that the medical records submitted in court were authentic as he has been at the bar for 30 years and could not tender forged records into court for the sake of an adjournment. However, the experts from both CIDRZ Lab and Levy Mwanawasa Hospital established that the medical records submitted into court were utter forgeries.
The trio are involved in a dispute where they fraudulently changed records for an Insurance company, Ultimate Insurance Company bought by Tomorrow Investments Limited Founder and Chief Executive Officer, Chanda Katotobwe and his wife, who bought the firm as an on-going concern.
The previous owners Klein Syampongo, Justin Phiri and Maybin Silavwe have consistently submitted into court in the last two years that they sold the entire company to Mr. and Mrs. Katotobwe who paid in full the total purchase price. The previous owners also stated that they issued receipts in the names of the new owners – the Katotobwes.
They have stated that the Katotobwes acquired all the shares of Ultimate Insurance Company Limited. Katotobwe became the lawful owner of the entire issued capital of Ultimate Insurance company after the transaction.
In March last year, Katotobwe reported the matter to Lusaka Central Police after discovering that the trio, who he had employed to run his new company had fraudulently changed the ownership and shareholding of his company while he had travelled abroad with his family.
But the trio, using the resources of the company, hired former Director of Public Prosecution (DPP), Mutembo Nchito and other lawyers to claim that the changes fraudulently done to the ownership structure and shareholding of the company were true.
In both criminal and civil cases the accused persons are represented by NCHITO and NCHITO law firm and they have plundered company resources to pay Mutembo NCHITO in excess of $50,000 ( K1m) using bank accounts held at ABSA in Lusaka.
Since then, Mr. Mutembo Nchito and his law firm have attempted to use higher courts to stop the criminal prosecution of the 3 fraudsters in the Lusaka Magistrate Court.
Meanwhile Magistrate Walusiku has reported Mutembo Nchito, Nchima Nchito and Chisuwo Hamweela all of NCHITO and NCHITO to the Law Association of Zambia(LAZ) for gross ethical and professional misconduct in the case.
She observed that manoeuvres by the defence by seeking without cause, higher court’s review was aimed at embarrassing the lower Court and were attempts to stop a legitimate criminal trial of the suspected fraudsters.
And on 14th September 2020, Lusaka High Court Judge, Honourable Lombe Phiri dismissed an application to review the decision of the lower court to try the suspected fraudsters.
The accused persons; Tobias Milambo, Richard Lubemba and Nachi Musonda appealed to the Lusaka High Court against a ruling delivered by Honourable Alice Walusiku on 23rd June 2020 to begin the trial of the case in which the trio are accused of fraudulently changing the ownership of the insurance company bought by Mr. Katotobwe.
Judge Lombe Phiri directed that the matter of the suspected fraudsters immediately commences in the lower court as there were no merits in their filed petition. She said allowing the review would undermine the powers of the Magistrate to exercise her powers to manage a criminal case before her Court.
She ruled that the allegations raised by the trio that they may have no fair trial being conducted in the Lusaka Magistrate were unfounded and without any basis.
In a related matter the Pensions and Insurance Authority (PIA) registrar Christopher Mapani and two others and Lusaka lawyer Charles Siamutwa are also facing criminal proceedings for colluding with Nchito and Nchito, on the forgery. The PIA is the regulatory and supervisory body for the pensions and insurance industry in Zambia.
Mr. Mapani as Registrar of PIA, is accused of perpetuating the operations of Ultimate Insurance Company with the three accused persons in charge yet they allegedly tendered forged documents of ownership of the company despite repeated reminders by the plaintiff and complainants.