Chipyoka not on payment instructions – witness
By Charles Musonda
A PROSECUTION witness has told the Lusaka High Court that the name of one of the four men charged with the murder of former Independent Broadcasting Authority (IBA) director general Guntila Muleya was not on any of the payment instructions that were given to him for signing.
Elvis Besa a systems engineer at IBA had earlier testified that the accused person Francis Chipyoka, who was the management accountant, brought to him for signing a payment instruction to the bank regarding payment for Pay As You Earn (PAYE) directed to the Zambia Revenue Authority (ZRA).
“Knowing the importance and urgency to pay statutory obligations as a signatory I signed on payment instructions.
“Around 09:30 hours we were called to the boardroom by the director of human resource and administration and during that meeting we were informed that the director general Mr. Guntila Muleya had not reported for work, which was unusual as he reported on time,” Besa said.
But in cross examination by defence lawyer Friday Mulenga, Besa told High Court Judge Vincent Siloka that Chipyoka’s name was not on any of the two documents that were shown to him in court yesterday. He said there was no arrangement of an agent taking payments to the bank on behalf of IBA.
He said that function was performed by IBA’s finance unit where Chipyoka worked in 2024. Besa also denied that he was harassing the late Muleya for the purchase of vehicles for a certain project for the IBA.
Besa also told the court that he did not see Chipyoka at Muleya’s funeral, both during church service and burial, although he saw a number of people.
Another witness Mitiyao Nyirenda, an Access Bank Kamwala branch manager whether or not the account number indicated on the payment instructions belonged to ZRA or another company.
“We are not able to tell, it becomes beyond our vision,” Nyirenda said. Trial continues.
