Fertiliser scam suspects appear in court

FOUR of the 11 people suspected to have participated in the diversion of three truckloads of Government subsidised fertiliser appeared in the Chipata magistrate’s court on Tuesday and pleaded not guilty to the charge of theft.
This is in a matter in which Aaron Kamungu, 33, Henderson Musa, 36, Christopher Banda, 27, and Thomas Mtonga, all of Chipata District, are alleged to have stolen 1, 200x 50 kilogramme bags of fertiliser, the property of Trans-Nabila Haulers.
Facts before Magistrate Stanford Ngobola were that on December 31, 2013, in Chipata District, the four jointly and whilst acting together with other unknown persons stole 1, 200 bags of fertiliser valued at K240, 000.
The court has set March 13, 2014 as the date for commencement of trial.
Trans-Nabila was contracted by Nyiombo Investment to help transport fertiliser into the country.
According to the court records, the three trucks which went missing contained 1,800 bags of fertiliser out of which 677 bags were recovered while the rest of the bags were sold at K360,000.