FORMER High Court Judge Wilfred Muma has failed to open his defence in a matter he is charged with wilfully failure to comply with the law because he fell ill.
This was after his lawyer, Honest Chizu informed the court yesterday that the matter was coming for commencement of defence but his client was not present.
Chizu informed the court that Muma was unwell and a doctor from the University Teaching Hospital(UTH) gave him some days to rest.
“The matter is scheduled for opening of the defence, however, the defence appears not to be ready because the accused is not present.”
“Our client is unwell. He was at UTH and he was given some days. May I be allowed to present a sick note from UTH. The sick note is self explanatory, that is the reason our client is not here,” Chizu said.
Chizu applied for an adjournment to enable his client to seek medical attention, possibly to recover.
The State did not object to the application.
Judge Pixie Yangalilo considered the sick note of the accused person that he was attended to at UTH on July 7 and given seven days of bed rest which renders the accused incapable of carrying out his duties.
Earlier, a panel of three Economic and Financial Crimes, High court Judges ordered that Muma concludes his defence in six days, starting from July 9, 2025.
In this matter, Muma was found with a case to answer in two counts of wilful failure to comply with the law and applicable procedure relating to the allocation and disposal of public property, and abuse of authority of office.
Muma, in his former capacity as Commissioner of Lands, is accused of unlawfully instructing the Zambia Army commander to surrender the certificate of title for property number Lusaka/LN-8426/1, which was then offered to the Patriotic Front (PF) party.
According to the court’s records, Muma is alleged to have grabbed land from the Zambia Army which is a portion of Chikoleka Forest, on Chitukuko road in Woodlands area and issued it to the Patriotic Front in 2018 when he served as Commissioner of Lands.
In the first count, Muma is alleged to have violated Section 84(f) of the Lands and Deeds Registry Act, Chapter 185 of the Laws of Zambia, by instructing his subordinates to cancel Certificate of Title No. 21818 related to public property without following legal procedures.
In the second count, he is accused of abusing his authority by facilitating the transfer of the said property to the PF party, an act considered detrimental to the government’s interests.
The matter was adjourned to July 15, 2025 for commencement of defence.
By Lucy Phiri
Kalemba July 10, 2025
