STATE lawyers representing the Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) have admitted that WhatsApp messages presented as evidence in the corruption case against Livingstone Mayor Constance Muleabai were not mentioned by the main complainant, Moonde Sumbwa.
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The admission occurred during proceedings before Visiting Lusaka Senior Resident Magistrate Trevor Kasanda, where the defense challenged the authenticity and relevance of a translation report containing the messages.
The report includes WhatsApp messages purportedly exchanged between Mayor Muleabai and Moonde Sumbwa, a key complainant in the case.
However, the defense team from Messrs. Chiwala Boniface Legal Practitioners argued that without the complainant’s testimony regarding the messages, the evidence constitutes inadmissible hearsay.
In response, State lawyers conceded that Sumbwa did not refer to the messages in court.
They argued, however, that the chats were not intended to prove the truth of their contents but merely to demonstrate that a conversation took place between Mayor Muleabai and the complainant.
The defense, led by lawyer McQueen Zaza, maintained that the evidence was unreliable and inadmissible without direct testimony or the production of the device from which the messages originated.
“The fact that the complainant has not spoken about these messages and that no original device was presented raises serious doubts about their authenticity,” Zaza argued.
This development follows a previous attempt by the defense to block an ACC officer from testifying, questioning her qualifications to translate Lozi language messages.
That motion was overruled by the court.
Muleabai faces two charges of corrupt practices involving a private body under the Anti-Corruption Act No. 3 of 2012.
She is accused of soliciting K120,000 and receiving K180,000 from businessman Mark Gabites between August and September of last year.
The amount was allegedly paid as inducement to clear property rate arrears for Gabites’ company, Zamnuka Farming Limited, at the Livingstone City Council.
Story and Pictures by George Musonda
Kalemba July 15, 2025
