I don’t know offence Sampa committed – ECZ witness
By Charles Musonda
LAWYERS defending Matero ember of Parliament Miles Sampa yesterday grilled a prosecution witness into saying he does not know the offence the lawmaker is facing.
During cross-examination by one of the defence lawyers, Charles Changano, Mollen Siyunda also said he did not see Sampa use a computer or computer system as indicated on the indictment to alleged post an allegation on his Facebook page that the Electoral Commission of Zambia (ECZ) had put up a fake and illegal polling station on Lilayi Road in the January 15 Chawama by-election.
Siyunda, 45, a teacher at Mandevu Combined School, said he did not have a government gazette to show that the polling station was a temporary shelter and said every polling station was gazetted.
He said he knew that every gazetted polling station was permanent.
In earlier cross-examination by another lawyer, Jonathan Photo, Siyunda said he did not see Sampa log into the Facebook account from where the said post was made.
He said he did not know the email address used to create the account.
“I don’t know the phone number linked to that account. I can’t tell the court who created that account. I did not obtain confirmation from Facebook that the account belongs to the accused person [Sampa]. I’m not a digital forensic expert and there is no digital forensic report before court,” Siyunda, who came in as first prosecution witness, said.
He said he could not tell the court the device from which the post was made and did not know who was behind the device when the post was made.
Siyunda said he could not tell the court under oath that he had physically seen Sampa make the post and could not provide the court with any evidence proving that Sampa authored the post.
In more cross-examination by another lawyer, Chisangu Liato, Siyunda said he had not told the court the number of Facebook pages that Sampa has.
He said he had not produced any document before the court proving that he worked as a presiding officer at Mutason 1 Polling Station, which was alleged to be fake, and had not provided evidence that only 66 voters cast their votes out of the registered 456.
Magistrate Webster Milumbe adjourned the case to April 21 for continued trial and extended Sampa’s bail.
