By 
Ex-President Edgar Lungu’s daughter, Tasila Lungu, has challenged the State to prove her guilty of criminally acquiring the farm in Sinda district, which she purchased with financial assistance from her father.
Tasila described the investigations against her by the State wings such as the Drug Enforcement Commission (DEC), as deliberate, intentional and malicious following the change of government after the August 2021, presidential elections.
Opposing the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP)’s application before the Economic and Financial Crimes Court-High Court division, to forfeit to the State the farm known as property no/2278 Sinda, Tasila, submitted to be the duly registered proprietor of the property in issue.
She referred to allegations by the State that the farm was suspected to have been obtained through proceeds of crime by contending that the said allegations were untrue, unfounded and unsubstantiated by any cogent evidence as she had never been involved in any alleged criminal activities.
Tasila, also Chawama Member of Parliament, contended that the Non-Conviction Based forfeiture of the farm was an infringement of her Constitutional right to property.
She further stated that the State ought to respect her constitutional right to a fair trial before declaring the property as being tainted.
“The interested party believe that in relation to the property in issue, which I was assisted by my family particularly my father Dr Lungu to purchase and towards which purchase I also contributed as I could from my available financial means, I wish to strongly dispute the deponent’s allegations that it is from proceeds of crime, or proceeds of serious offence or a foreign serious offence,” she said.
Tasila submitted that her father had not equally alleged to have been involved in criminal activities to warrant the forfeiture of the property.
She also raised the issue with the estimated value of the farm stating that the K13, 950,378.83 was incorrect and purposely inflated.
“I believe that the only development on the said property is a servants quarters and unfinished structure with no roof partially up to window level, there is no electricity on the site and the land is bare land with some holes excavated with no drainage or pipes and any construction whatsoever,” she said.
Tasila further contended, “ exhibit ‘EK3’ refers to (I) in Bill number 1, three bedroomed house with porcelain tiles and lighting power and installation (III) no.3 poultry house ;(III) Bill no.4 poultry house 2;(iv) Bill no.6 four bedroomed house;(v) bill no.7 drainage works; (vi) bill no.8 external works with electrified game fence: which I verily believe are structures and or developments that are not on the property and the said bill of quantities is therefore deliberately misleading, untrue and intended to depict developments and values that are intentionally inflated.”
The ex-President’s daughter argued that the deponent, Emmanuel Khondwe, a DEC investigations officer was not qualified to conduct an analysis of her earnings.
“The deponent had no financial accounting background or expertise; to enable him to gather financial information, analyze the said financial information and make conclusions, deductions or indeed render an opinion as to my income or expenditure or variation thereof in the absence of such qualifications and in the absence of a proper financial audit,” she said.
She added that investigations were conducted into her income between the periods of June 11, 2015 to August 31, 2021, but that, however, there had been no mention of any analysis being carried out on her income and earnings prior to that date.
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