BUSINESSMAN ACCUSES DEPUTY CHIEF JUSTICE OF BEING A LIAR, MANIPULATIVE AND CORRUPT

By Staff Reporter

Lusaka businessman Misheck Chatora has appealed to the Judicial Complaints Commission to summon Deputy Chief Justice Michael Musonda, whom he has accused of having attended a PF campaign event, of being a liar, manipulative and corrupt, saying JCC must recommend his dismissal to the President.


And Daily Revelation understands that another Supreme Court justice Evans Hamaundu appeared before the JCC with judgment being awaited on whether he will be punished or not.


In his letter dated February 13, 2023 to the JCC after they cleared justices Musonda and Nigel Mutuna, following his earlier complaint against them, Chatora indicated that he was not satisfied with the JCC decision.


“I acknowledge receipt of your letter dated 13th December 2022 in which you indicated that the commission had cleared judges Michael Musonda and Nigel Mutuna. I would like to respond to your letter in relation to judge Michael Musonda. There are issues he raised in his exculpatory letter to the commission dated 26th September 2022. He infact lied in his exculpatory letter and I would like to respond to them. This entails that the commission has to reopen investigations into the misconduct of Judge Michael Musonda,” Chatora stated. “Foremost, the subject appeal came up for hearing on 1st October 2019 before Judges Michael Musonda, Mumba Malila & Charles Kajimanga. Before the hearing of 1st October 2019, the advocates for Maritime, Mwenye Mwitwa advocates wrote a letter to Judge Musonda on 17th July 2019 asking Judge Musonda to consider giving an early date of hearing the appeal as the matter had taken too long. Judge Musonda responded to that letter on 9th August 2019 and indicated that arrangements where being made to hear the subject appeal in Ndola during the September 2019 supreme Court session. The letter is at page 1 of the complainant’s bundle of documents.”


Chatora stated that due to the voluminous nature of the appeal documents, it was resolved that the appeal be heard in Lusaka in October 2019, but that when the appeal came up for hearing before the three judges, it was announced by the court that the record of appeal was incomplete and needed to be redone and that the court further announced that the appeal was going to be heard in January 2020 on a date to be communicated to parties. Judge Michael Musonda communicated to the parties on behalf of the court and he remarked as follows;
‘we are adjourning this matter to January 2020 on a date to be communicated to parties because it has taken too long to be disposed off. Mwenye Mwitwa wrote to us. It will be the only matter,’” Chatora stated, and that the appellant, Zambian Breweries obliged and filed a corrected record of the appeal on December 20, 2019 but that there was no communication from the Supreme Court regarding the actual hearing date in January 2020, which prompted the advocates for his company Maritime, Nhari Advocates, to write to Judge Musonda in his capacity as Deputy Chief Justice to give a hearing date in January 2020 as per the court’s pronouncement on October 01, 2019.


He stated that the said letter was received by Judge Musonda’s marshall Fisher Moonga but that the judge never responded to the letter.

“The BIG QUESTION is; WHY? The same Judge who had announced in court on 1 st October 2019 that the matter had been delayed was now hesitating to give a hearing date for the appeal. He had now connived with the late Chief Justice Ireen Mambilima to oppress justice. They agreed to archive the appeal documents and never to deliver the judgment of the court. Where were they deriving the courage to do that? Former president Edgar Lungu! Why am I saying this? On 27th April 2016, when this particular matter was still in the High Court before the then high court Judge Flavia Chishimba, Judge Chishimba sat from 09:00hrs to past 18:00hrs. As we walked out of the Court room, Annabelle Degroot, the then managing director for Zambian Breweries who had come to court to testify as Defense Witness number 5 remarked as follows after the court hearing around 18:00 hrs; ‘You Mr Chatora, you think you can defeat Zambian Breweries? We have already talked to State House, the ChiefJustice and other Judges. You will see what will happen to you. You can only inconvenience us by wasting our time in court’,” Chatora stated. “The Chief Justice of Zambia was late Ireen Mambilima. II was in the company of 7 people, but one of the 7 people has since died. The legal counsel for Zambia Breweries, Deborah Bwalya, was also present. Eddie Mwitwa and Abel Tembo remained in the Court Room packing their documents. I continued to follow up the date of hearing when the appeal was going to be heard upto the end of January 2020. After making several attempts to have the appeal date communicated through Judge Musonda’s Marshall Fisher Moonga and drawing a blank, I decided to physically see Judge Musonda.”


Chatora stated that Moonga took him to the judge’s secretary a Ms Mapala with whom he exchanged phone numbers and that she promised to relay his concerns to the judge, adding that he continued communicating with the secretary until it became clear to him that the judge was not going to issue a date of hearing for the appeal
“It is at this point that I called Ms Mapala and told her to tell Judge Musonda that him and Judge Mambilima are very corrupt,” Chatora stated and that he equally told Mapala that the said justice Mambilima gave instructioms to the judge president of the Court of Apppeals to enter a judgement against Maritime.


”I further told Ms Mapala that I got that information from my friend who is a cousin to Judge Mubanga Kondolo. Judge Kondolo confided that information in us in 2018 when the matter was still in the court of appeal. Did Judge Kondolo lie? He didn’t because what he said was clearly manifesting in the Supreme Court. Judge Musonda went to tell Judge Mambilima what I had said and they decided to instruct the master of the supreme Court to write to my lawyers asking for an apology. This letter is at pages 3 and 4 of the complainant’s bundle of documents. In her letter, the Master of the Supreme Court said that I used demeaning words to Ms Mapala. Why didn’t they mention the demeaning words that I used? What are the demeaning words that I uttered to Ms Mapala? Let Judge Musonda say them, He knows that I called him and Judge Mambilima corrupt.”


He argued that they were scared to even summon him for contempt because “they knew that I had known their evil scheme.”

“Their level of fear reached a point of instructing lawyers to apologise on my behalf & to undertake certain commitments. They knew that it’s easy to intimidate lawyers and not me. They knew I had exposed them and the only way to silence me was through lawyers. Lawyers wrote letters of apology as per the court’s instruction. I never participated because there was nothing to apologise for. I knew I was right and today, I have been vindicated. Hasn’t Judge Hamaundu been heralded to a hearing before the JCC? And didn’t they change the decision of the Court as per my statement to Ms Mapala in January 2020,” Chatora stated. “In his response to the lawyers’ apology letter, Judge Musonda indicated in his letter dated 21st February 2020 (page 5 of the complainant’s bundle of documents) that our appeal was cause listed on a date to be communicated to parties. Which date was he talking about?”


He claimed that the appeal was supposed to be heard in January 2020 amd a letter was written to him, contrary “to his lie of 21st February 2020 that the appeal was already cause listed, the appeal was only cause listed to be heard on 28th July 2020 as clearly indicated on pages 28-30 of the complainant’s bundle of documents. The cause list is self-explanatory for all to see. Michael Musonda is not fit to be a judge. Having been cause listed on 28th July 2020 for the September 2020 session, the appeal was now heard before Judges mutuna, Michael musonda and Evans Hamaundu. I earlier in my letter of 1st September 2022 said that they removed Judges Malila & Kajimanga so that they could facilitate their corruption without disturbances and Judge Musonda in his reply said he was not responsible for constituting panels. Refer to what he said in paragraphs 11, 12 and 37.3 of his exculpatory letter to the JCC which runs from pages 62 to 70 of the complainant’s bundle of documents dated 26th September 2022?” Chatora stated. “As can be clearly seen from the 3 paragraphs mentioned above, Judge Musonda emphatically said that the Judges who were responsible for reconstituting the panel were late Elizabeth C Muyovwe and the retired GS Phiri. He further said that he was not responsible for that himself. What a LIAR! I called GS Phiri on his mobile phone number 097 7 785 573 and he told me that he left the Judiciary in 2019. Where did Judge Musonda get GS Phiri to remove Judges Malila and Kajimanga from the panel in August 2020 when GS Phiri left in 2019?”

He indicated that he had talked about the August 2020 because panels are announced to the group discussion meeting which is held a day before the hearing of the appeal and August 31, 2020, a day before hearing of the appeal on September 01, 2020, justice Phiri had already left the Judiciary
I have talked about August 2020 because panels are announced to the group discussion meeting which is held a day before the hearing of the appeal and on 31 st August 2020, a day before hearing of the appeal on 1 st September 2020, GS Phiri had already left the Judiciary.

“All the cause lists show that the two senior most judges were judges Elizabeth Muyovwe and Evans Hamaundu. Why is Michael Musonda shielding Judge Hamaundu? He is shielding Judge Hamaundu because they connived to remove Judges Malila and Kajimanga so that they could perpetuate corruption. What a shame! The only cause lists which don’t have Elizabeth Muyovwe are the ones for March & April 2021 because she died on 31st January 2021. She was no longer with the judiciary like GS Phiri. In my 3 meetings I had with Judge Hamaundu in his office starting on 17th September 2021, he told me that Judge Musonda had archived our appeal documents and the only option available was to persuade him to write the judgment. Judge Hamaundu didn’t lie. Judge Musonda had indeed archived the appeal documents,” Chatora argued. “In paragraph 4 of his letter to Mwenye Mwitwa advocates (pages 7-9 of the complainant’s bundle of documents) dated 6th May 2021, he lied that the record of appeal has 10 volumes and he repeated this lie to the commission in paragraph 13 of his exculpatory letter dated 26th September 2022. The said paragraph 13 is at page 64 of the complainant’s bundle of documents. The Record of Appeal only has four volumes and a Supplementary Record of Appeal. Where did he get the extra 6 records of appeal? He LIED! This perpetual lie demonstrates that Judge Michael Musonda was very detached from the case. He was not writing the judgment. He had indeed archived it. Judge Musonda is so crooked and manipulative. He doesnvt deserve to be a judge. Can such a clearly manipulative person dispense fair justice? Not at all! Judge Musonda exhibited a printout of the WhatsApp message I sent to president Hichilema through Bradford Machila in September 2021 wherein I brought it to the attention of President Hichilema that Judge Musonda is not fit to be a Judge. Yes, I sent that message and I didn’t lie. I stand by it even today and I have demonstrated above his manipulative ways of doing things. He should be removed as a Judge.”

He accused justice Musonda of having attended a PF campaign event at Mwembeshi prison where former president Edgar Lungu was canvassing for votes from prisoners.


“He went there to support the patriotic front presidential candidate Edgar Lungu using a government vehicle and he should be punished for that. And why didn’t he resign from the panel when I told his secretary that he is corrupt in February 2020? He had the protection of Edgar Lungu & Ireen Mambilima. Why didn’t he resign from the panel when I called him a patriotic front cadre and a rude judge in September 2021? …. He only resigned from the panel after the swearing in of Judge Malila as chief justice on 22nd December 2021. I wrote a letter to the chief justice complaining about the manner Judge Musonda had handled our appeal and when the chief justice querried him, he had no plausible explanation but to quit in shame. But he never ended at quitting, he continued with his shenanigans behind scenes.”

The rest of the letter Chatora wrote to JCC is here below:

This letter is at pages 10 and 11 of the complainant’s bundle of documents. I further indicated to the new Chief Justice that our lawyers were hesitant to follow up the Judgment because Judge Musonda had threatened them through a letter he wrote on 6th May 2021 at pages 7-9 of the complainant’s bundle of documents and in particular, paragraph 13 of the said letter where he threatened lawyers to seriously reflect upon the dangers of pressurizing courts to deliver Judgments within period desired/determined by litigants.


The above-mentioned clause 13 of the letter shows that Judge Musonda is not ready or doesn’t want to abide by the rules of delivering timely justice. Please compare that with what he said in open court on 1 st October 2019 and also compare his attitude that I have clearly demonstrated and proved to paragraph 3 of the letter he wrote to Maritime’s advocates on 21 st February 2020 (pages 5 and 6 of the complainant’s bundle of documents). Around mid July 2022, I called judge Hamaundu to find out why he had failed to honour his promise of delivering the judgment at the end of June 2022.


He frankly told me that he was receiving too much pressure from Judge Musonda not to deliver the judgment. What was Judge Musonda’s interest in a matter he had resigned from? … That’s why he even tried in vain to distance himself and Judge Hamaundu from the reconstitution of the panel. He has to be removed from his position as Deputy Chief Justice as well as that of the supreme Court judge. He should further be reported to Zambia police for giving false information to a public officer so that the police can arrest and charge him accordingly.


Judge Musonda has no integrity. He, on 21 st February 2020, lied that the appeal was cause listed to be heard on a date to be communicated to parties when he infact knew that the appeal was not cause listed. Judge Musonda refused to give a hearing date in January 2020 inspite of court committing itself to hear the appeal in January 2020.


Judge Musonda lied that the Judges who removed Judges Malila and Kajimanga from the panel were Elizabeth Muyovwe and GS Phiri when infact it was Elizabeth Muyovwe and Judge Hamaundu. He evaded justice and misled the commission. He lied that the record of appeal consists of 10 volumes when infact it consists of 4 volumes resulting in the commission believing that the judgment was delayed because of the voluminous record of appeal.


I appeal to the commission to summon this Judge for a hearing and subsequently recommend to the President to dismiss him from the Judiciary.

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