By Staff Reporter
Former Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) board member Dr O’Brien Kaaba has told the Ndola High Court that former Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) director general Thom Shamakamba has a checkered history of legal practice and has been involved in several cases of alleged unethical behavior, including forging a will.
And Dr Kaaba charged that Shamakamba threatened a Lusaka lawyer who reported a case of alleged corrupt activities involving a senior government official to ACC.
Dr Kaaba further submitted that Shamakamba was vindictive to the ACC staff reporting acts of corruption within the institution, maliciously transferring a senior officer from Lusaka to Solwezi for simply questioning the abuse of institutional vehicles and institutional fuel by some directors.
This is in a matter where Shamakamba has sued Daily Revelation Newspaper and University of Zambia (UNZA) lecturer Dr Kaaba, demanding $500 million in damages for libel.
Shamakamba is seeking an order that the article titled, “ACC DG, MUCHENDE GETTING KICKBACKS- BOARD MEMBER.” Published by the newspaper against him dated July, 15-16, 2024, was libelous.
He also wants damages for ridicule, mental anguish, stress, inconveniences and embarrassment and an order that the defendants retract the article dated July 15-16, 2024.
The plaintiff further demands for an order that the defendant renders a public apology in a widely circulated newspaper and on a famous Facebook Page and exemplary damages.
Shamakamba also wants punitive damages, interest and any other reliefs.
In his defence filed in the Ndola High Court, dated August 22, 2024, Dr Kaaba submitted that he would aver that he wrote two articles, under his hand on a student blog called Amulufeblog entitled “Rescuing the fight against corruption from collapse: The President must act,” and “Three things that have gone wrong with the fight against corruption and what the president must do,” published on July 10 and July 14, 2024 respectively.
Dr Kaaba argued that he would show at trial that the Law Association of Zambia objected to Shamakamba’s ratification as director general of the ACC.
He argued that Shamakamba’s legal practice has not been premised on integrity, and his life as a lawyer had significant blemishes, including being the subject of several disciplinary actions by LAZ and in no case was he cleared.
Dr Kaaba argued that LAZ could not support Shamakamba’s appointment as he was never cleared by the association in all the cases he was facing before them.
“The plaintiff has a checkered history of legal practice and has been involved in several cases of alleged unethical behavior, including the forgery of a Will,” Dr Kaaba argued. “The plaintiff’s time at the Anti-Corruption Commission was characterised by incompetence, lack of confidentiality and failure to effectively prosecute cases of corruption which led to the entire Board formally complaining to the President of the Republic of Zambia about the plaintiff’s conduct.”
Kaaba denied Shamakamba’s claim that his appointment as director general of the ACC was based on merit, arguing that the current system for appointment as DG was based on “tap-on-the-shoulder” system which was shrouded in secrecy and was seriously lacking transparency and credibility, and as such cannot be termed to be merit based.
“The 2nd Defendant will further aver that the Plaintiff himself was not subjected to any form of competitive process in his appointment,” Dr Kaaba submitted. “The 2nd Defendant disputes the contents of paragraph 14 of the Statement of Claim and will aver that it is true that the Plaintiff lacks integrity and therefore, the words impugned by the Plaintiff are true and amount to fair comment on a matter of public interest.”
Dr Kaaba submitted that Shamakamba inappropriately used his power as DG to give immunity to four of the accused people involved in the Ministry of Finance scandal which was being investigated by ACC, thereby shielding them from prosecution and justice.
On account of the same, Dr Kaaba argued that the accused people, despite being allegedly involved in serious acts of corruption, had retained their senior positions in government.
Dr Kaaba stated that Shamakamba had been involved in serious acts calculated to undermine the fight against corruption, where in the case involving a Pharmaceutical case, which was being jointly investigated between the police and ACC, he caused the release of the passports of the suspects and thereby aiding and abetting their escape from jurisdiction and to date the suspects were still at large.
He further submitted that Shamakamba further proceeded to write a letter to the Ministry of Justice to the effect that the investigation had closed, and therefore the US$6 million that was frozen in the matter should be released to the suspect.
Dr Kaaba submitted that Shamakamba was vindictive to ACC staff reporting acts of corruption, and transferred one senior officer from Lusaka to Solwezi for questioning the use of the institutional vehicles and fuel by some directors, but that decision was reversed by the board.
He further submitted that no notable progress had been witnessed from the time Shamakamba was appointed as DG, on a number of cases of corruption involving senior government officials which had reached an advanced stage by the time he joined the commission, and on account of the same a director in one Ministry has since been appointed as permanent secretary.
Dr Kaaba submitted that Shamakamba personally wrote a former senior government official to promise him immunity if only he could return about one third of the money found in possession of the suspect believed to be proceeds of crime.
“A Lusaka based lawyer reported a case of alleged corruption involving a senior government official to the ACC, but instead of acting on the report, and updating the complainant, the Plaintiff (Shamakamba) called the complainant and threatened him,” he submitted.
He added that the concerns about Shamakamba’s capacity, propriety and integrity was common knowledge and had been openly canvassed by former ACC chairman Musa Mwenye and President Hakainde Hichilema, who openly reprimanded the plaintiff about the lack of seriousness in fighting corruption, during the launch of the National Anti-Corruption Policy.
Dr Kaaba further submitted that the board on May 27, 2024 unanimously wrote the President enumerating several shortcomings on the part of Shamakamba.
He argued that he would aver that Shamakamba had not suffered any harm ad the two articles he published never mentioned Shamakamba, and he was not the author of the impugned article subject of the proceedings, but that the article contained verifiable truths, was factual and related to a discourse that was a matter of public interest, and therefore the former ACC DG was not entitled to any relief sought from the courts.
He denied each and every allegation from Shamakamba as set out in the statement of claim.
