KEY prosecution witness Mark Gabites has given testimony that directly contradicts the charges against Livingstone mayor Constance Muleabai, as he told the court that he never personally paid her the K180,000 she is accused of soliciting and receiving.
https://www.facebook.com/share/p/16iCvn9uYD/?mibextid=oFDknk
Muleabai, 49, faces two counts of corrupt practices with a private body, contrary to Section 20(1) as read with Section 41(a) of the Anti-Corruption Act No. 3 of 2012.
The charges allege that between 1 August and 31 September 2023, she corruptly solicited K180,000 and later obtained K120,000 from Gabites as an inducement to facilitate a 100 percent remission of property rates for Zamnuka Farming Limited at the Livingstone City Council.
However, when testifying virtually from Bangkok yesterday before visiting Senior Resident Magistrate Trevor Kasanda, Gabites disputed the claims that he personally paid the mayor.
“There was no K180,000 that was obtained from me. I did not pay out the K180,000,” he said.
Gabites, 58, told the court during cross-examination that it was Monde Sumbwa, another witness in the same case, who handled the payment but he was neither present when she withdrew the money nor in the office when she is said to have handed it to the mayor.
He further revealed that the money allegedly involved in the case did not come from Zamnuka Farming Limited, as the company had no bank account at the time.
Instead, the funds came from Oliver Perry, one of Zamnuka’s directors and the father of Monde Sumbwa’s child.
Gabites also testified that his first meeting with Muleabai allegedly took place at her office, where he claims she requested the payment, promising to facilitate a 100 percent remission of property rates in return.
But the defense challenged this assertion, arguing that Gabites’ name does not appear in the visitors’ book at Livingstone City Council, a mandatory procedure for anyone seeking to meet the mayor, suggesting there is no record that the interaction took place.
The revelations have cast serious doubt on the prosecution’s case, which is built on the allegation that Gabites personally paid the bribe to Muleabai.
By George Musonda
Kalemba July 23, 2025
