Lusambo still occupying seized house
By Kombe Mataka
ANTI-CORRUPTION Commission (ACC) says it is aware that former Lusaka Province minister Bowman Lusambo is still occupying his seized house in Chamba Valley.
And Lusambo says he spent Friday night in his house and that he had remained there because it was his house.
On Thursday, the ACC seized Lusambo’s properties worth over K22 million suspected to be proceeds of crime.
Officers arrived at Lusambo’s residence in three vehicles at about 11:48 hours accompanied by armed police officers.
They found the place locked and manned by a garden boy who later opened for them.
The properties located on a land in Chamba Valley include plot F/609/E/44/B/3, F/609/E/44/B/4, F/6O9/E/44/B/5, F/609/E/44/B/6, F/609/E/44/B/7, F/609/E/44/B/8, F/609/E/44/B/9 and subdivision 50 at Farm E of Farm No. 609.
The area which has an estimated 600-metre tarred road up to his house includes complete and incomplete buildings as well as zebras, waterbucks, impalas and a maize field.
ACC corporate affairs manager Timothy Moono told The Mast that Lusambo had been given time to leave on his own, failure to which he would be evicted.
“When the property has been seized, the person’s rights of ownership at that point are taken away from that person. So, the decision on whether to stay in or not is by the State now. And so, on most cases because it is a matter under investigations, we actually order the tenants to vacate,’’ he explained. ‘’If there are tenants or where the owners are staying in their own house because in most cases they begin to temper with the property; but if it is just a tenant, we can either request them to stay and continue paying rent to the person’s that are managing the property or they can also be requested to vacate and the property remains vacant. It is different from a restriction notice. A restriction notice is where the owner of the property has been told not to dispose of that property in any form because it is under investigation. So, they can continue staying in the house but they cannot change ownership; they cannot do anything about the property.’’
Moono further explained what a forfeiture meant in contrast with the seizure.
“A forfeiture is complete withdrawal of ownership and transfers into the State. You lose the property and the State takes over,” Moono said.
He said the Commission was aware that Lusambo was occupying the same house which was seized on Thursday.
“Yes, these things …it has been seized. It is temporarily not yours until such a time when the case is over. So, if you have nowhere to go you talk to the law enforcement agencies to say ‘look, give some period to leave the place’ but they can kick you out immediately to preserve the integrity of that property,” Moono said further.
Asked whether Lusambo had made a request to stay for some days, Moono didn’t respond to the question.
“We are aware but the fact is the property has been seized. So, he will be in the house temporally at some appropriate time. He will be requested to leave on his own, if he doesn’t then he will be evicted,” said Moono.
And Lusambo, who claimed to be in South Africa at the time his property was being seized, earlier told The Mast that he slept in the same house on Friday night and that he had remained in there.
“That is my house, I slept in my house and even right now I am in my house. I can even see the cops outside there. I told you that this is my house; I cannot go anywhere,” said Lusambo.
The Mast
