Mpombo Fails To Meet Deadline For Bail, Spends Weekend In Police Cells

GEORGE Mpombo on Friday failed to secure two working sureties on time to meet his bail conditions, forcing him to spend the weekend in jail before he could possibly be released on bail tomorrow.

Mpombo, 59, a former defence minister in the MMD administration, former Kafulafuta member of parliament and former deputy high commissioner to Nigeria was on December 12 convicted of three counts of theft by public servant, forgery and uttering false documents and sentenced to nine months imprisonment with hard labour by Lusaka chief resident magistrate Joshua Banda.

Mpombo’s lawyer Abraham Mwansa said in an interview on Friday that his client could not manage to secure two working sureties to beat the 17:00 hours deadline after the Lusaka Magistrates’ Court granted him K10,000 bail in his own recognisance and two working sureties in the like sum.

Mwansa said though the appeal against Mpombo’s conviction was successfully filed in the Lusaka High Court, he could not be released because two working sureties could not come on time to sign for him.
He said it was difficult to coordinate in securing the sureties because Mpombo’s family was in Ndola.

Mwansa said Mpombo did not anticipate spending the weekend in jail but that he was still looking strong and courageous, adding that the legal team had hoped to secure him bail on time to avoid him spending more days in incarceration.
“His (Mpombo) concern is that he did not anticipate to have spent the weekend in jail. But his family is in Ndola, it has been difficult to find two working sureties on time. He still looks to be in good spirit, he still looks okay. Everything is now done, the appeal has been filed in the High Court and he will be out on bail on Monday,” said Mwansa.

Mpombo, who is now People’s Democratic Party president, was alleged to have on unknown dates but between June and September 2008 in Lusaka, jointly and whilst acting together with others unknown being a public servant as minister of defence stole K18,000 which came into his possession by virtue of employment.

It was further alleged that Mpombo on unknown dates but between June 9 and September 12, 2008 in Lusaka jointly and whilst working together with others unknown, forged a tax invoice number 6358 and receipts number 2846 and 4468 purporting to show that it was genuinely issued when in fact not.
In count three, it was alleged that between June 9 and September 15, 2008 in Lusaka, Mpombo knowingly and fraudulently uttered false documents namely two receipts, tax invoice and retirement of special imprest forms to Winniver Simwinji Mhlanga, a public servant.
Magistrate Banda in his judgment found that the prosecution had proved its case beyond any reasonable doubt in all three counts and found Mpombo guilty and convicted him accordingly.

Posted by Editor (online) on December 15, 2013. Filed under LATEST NEWS. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. You can leave a response or trackback to this entry