FORMER Zambia National Service (ZNS) commandant Anthony Yeta has refuted claims by former Zambia Air Force (ZAF) commander Andrew Sakala that he received K500,000 to use for special operations during and after the September 20, 2011 general elections.
This is in a matter in which Sakala, Yeta and former Zambia Army commander Wisdom Lopa are charged with theft by public servant contrary to the laws of Zambia.
It is alleged that the three former defence chiefs between September 16, 2011 and September 21, 2011 in Lusaka allegedly stole K1.5 million (K1.5 billion unrebased) belonging to the Ministry of Defence.
The money was meant for defence operations during the 2011 general elections.
When the matter came up yesterday for continued defence before magistrate Wilfred Muma, Yeta said Sakala was lying when he said that he gave him K500,000.
Yeta said the only thing he received from Sakala at the time was wine which was brought to his house in a bag.
He said he was aware that K500,000 was supposed to be given out for various operations.
Yeta said this was agreed during a central joint operations committee (CJOC) meeting which was chaired by Lopa.
He said then Inspector-General of Police Francis Kabonde was the vice-chairperson while he and Sakala were members and that the secretary of the committee was the director-general of Office of the President Special Division.
Yeta said it was agreed in the meeting that the three defence services (ZAF, ZNS and the army) would receive K500,000 each and that the money would be remitted through bank transfers.
He said he did not receive the money from Sakala and that he would have questioned why he did not receive the money in the next CJOC meeting but that this did not happen because he was retired.
Yeta said the money was supposed to be used for acquisition of information and other contingencies and that it was up to the individual commander to allocate the money to whatever operation he chose.
He said it was not correct for Sakala to allege that he personally delivered the money to him in a bag which was later returned to him through his aide de camp.
He said that the only black bag which was returned to Sakala was one which he used to take wine to his house.
Yeta said the bag did not contain any money but that it was used for exchange of gifts, which in this case, was wine.
He said he did not tell his successor about the money because he was not given time to properly hand over the office, saying that he was treated like an enemy of the State when he was fired.
And Lopa said he would not have reported Sakala to the police for failing to give him the K500,000 meant for the Zambia Army election special operations, saying the best was to report to the Office of the President Special Division.
“If at all I had suspected Sakala had misappropriated this money, because of his appointment and rank, I could not have reported him to the police.
“I could have brought the matter before the CJOC. They are the right body to be reported to,” Lopa said.
He said the money was supposed to be given to the service and not individuals, saying that it was not true that Sakala personally gave him the money at Chainama Golf Club because he does not patronise golf clubs.
“Sakala knows that I do not patronise golf clubs. I last went to a golf club in 2009 during a fundraising tournament for the Zambia Army Mfuti Club,” Lopa said.
He said it was also not true that he received the money the day before the elections because he was held up in meetings and that any serious person would have been worried about what was happening in the country at the time.
He added that he did not receive any money from Sakala in a bag saying that only documents, and gifts such as herbal medicines from Tanzania and brandy were exchanged using bags.
“What I received from this bag was two bottles of brandy and other items such as medicines from Tanzania. We received boosters to help us conduct certain functions,” Lopa said.
He said it was agreed during the CJOC meeting that because of the nature of elections that were forthcoming and showing signs of problems emanating, it was necessary to put funds aside for covert operations.
Lopa said the Zambia Army did not receive its share of the money