Two suspects are accused of taking over K90,000 from well-known soccer player Emmanuel Mayuka while he was travelling in Egypt and making deposits to his savings account back in Zambia.
In connection with the money being taken from the bank account of the 2012 Africa Cup of Nations tournament’s best scorer without his permission, a bank teller and an accountant from a specific Lusaka bank are appearing in court.
The accused are Kangwa Makumba, 51, an accountant from the Kabangwe region, and Evans Kabaso, 30, a bank teller from Kabulonga.
They are accused of 15 charges of theft and theft by servant with forgeries.
There is proof that Mr. Mayuka, 32, was informed about the suspicious account activity by Simon Kasempe, his relationship manager at the bank.
Mr. Mayuka of Salama Park, Lusaka, stated that Mr. Kasempe, whom he referred to as his bank manager, called him in July 2017 while he was in Egypt when the case was brought before the Lusaka Magistrate’s Court last week.
“He asked me if I was in Zambia and I told him I was not. He them asked me if I was transacting money from my savings account in May, June and July, and I said no,” the former English Premier League side Southampton player said.
He narrated that he was surprised to learn that his account back home was being debited.
“I was shocked that money was being withdrawn from my account,” he said. He said Mr Kasempe then told him he would call back later. “When he called me back, he told me the withdrawal from my account was K96, 500. I never instructed anyone to withdraw money from my account. While abroad, I would use bank to bank accounts transactions,” Mr Mayuka said.
The athlete, who is presently without a club, claimed that he had once met Makumba, his former personal “financial manager.”
Before telling the court that the bank eventually paid him back the stolen money, he claimed, “From that time[I had met Makumba], I felt he was still my personal bank manager.”
The court was also informed that Kabaso was disciplined as a result of bank investigations into the theft, who was then reported to the Anti-Corruption Commission.
Trial is ongoing.
