THE case in which Precious Longwe is charged with theft of K200, 000 from BancABC where she was an employee failed to take off yesterday as her lawyer Osborne Ngoma was not before court.

It is alleged that Longwe, of house number 19 off Buluwe Road in Woodlands, Lusaka, stole the money on May 24, 2016, in Lusaka, from BancABC, where she was employed as a customer service officer.

When the matter came up before magistrate Nthandose Chabala for defense, the State said they were ready to proceed but the defence lawyer was absent.

The State told the court that they had received a phone call from defense lawyer Ngoma that he could not make it to court because his mother was unwell and needed urgent attention.

And magistrate Chabala told the accused that she had noted that the matter had taken too long to be concluded because of her lawyer’s absence and adjournments. “Accused person, I have noted that this matter has taken too long to be concluded because of your lawyer’s absence and adjournments, I have also noted that he does not file in appropriate submissions in the matter. I must state that the next time the matter comes up, I will proceed even if he won’t be present,” she said. The matter comes up on April 25.