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Lusaka Magistrate, Trevor Kasanda, has denied bail to a Pakistan, on the Interpol wanted list for alleged human trafficking and money laundering.
Magistrate Kasanda doubted Wahdat Hussain would religiously attend bail if granted putting into consideration that he was a wanted person in South Africa.
The accused who is before the Zambian court is being tried on a charge of being in possession of various types of vehicles suspected to be proceeds of crime.
“This accused person goes by two names namely Wadhat Hussain and Wajid Ahmed as shown and he is currently a wanted person in the Republic of South Africa. I find that the accused is highly likely not to attend court if bail is granted. I therefore dismiss the application for bail and order that the accused remains in custody,” he ruled.
He adjourned the matter to February 22, 2024.
According to the Interpol report submitted by ACC Assistant Director Legal, Gloria Muyunda, the accused had a South African passport under the names of Wajid Ahmed which he first used to enter Zambia in 2018.
The State was also in possession of his application for the temporary employment permit under the name Ahmed that was applied for on February 20, 2018.
They further had his copy of a passport that he used to enter Zambia in 2019 under the names Hussain Wahdat which expired on November 27, 2023.
“However, under the same names of Wadat Hussain, the passport was renewed on June 15, 2023. This is a Pakistan passport. Using this passport, in 2019 on September 18 he applied for an investor’s permit in Zambia and further in 2022, he applied for a resident permit for investor’s permit holders under the name of Wahdat Hussain,” she stated.
The Court heard that the accused even managed to acquire pink National registration card and applied for a Zambian driver’s licence in 2020.
According to the Interpol report, the accused identified himself by the name of Hussain Wahdat, Ahmed Wajid and nickname,Ali.
Muyunda stated that Wahdat was wanted in South Africa on charges of smuggling humans seeking asylum, corruption and fraud.
“It has been difficult to apprehend him as we have demonstrated in documents that the accused goes by two different names including a nick name he is popularly known for. He holds eight different passports according to the Interpol report and thats the challenge in apprehending him,” she submitted.
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