The Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) has challenged Charles Loyana, a Zambian National who has put in a claim of ownership by power of attorney for the infamous 48 houses to prove that he and his associates are indeed the true owners.
The 48 houses ownership saga had been projected as an epitome of government officials and politicians corruption after a revelation that there was no one who came up to claim the assets even much publicity and the public outcry.
The narrative of corruption based on the 48 houses saga seems to have backfired when the Anti Corruption Commission – ACC ended up seizing the assets, an action which has now brought out the true owners who are seeking to retain ownership.
According to court documents filed and seen by the Zambian Business Times – ZBT, a Zambian national, Charles Loyana, an Accountant employed at the Ministry of Finance has together with Uziel Bashire and Zuberi Bigawa sued the ACC for the forfeiture of the 48 houses.
Bashire, a Tanzanian national who claims to be involved in international business and currently residing in Norway and Bigawa, a Tanzanian national currently residing in Tanzania, who is a cousin to Bashire and is involved in provision of general construction services have sued the ACC claiming to be the true owners.
ACC in defending their seizure of the assets stated that there is no record of either Uziel Bashire or Zuberi Bigawa being granted an investment permit to enable them to invest in Zambia and build the 48 houses.
ACC said the power of attorney between Bashire and Bigawa as well as that between Bigawa and Loyana does not state that Bashire would have interest and would in future be the beneficial owner while upon purchase Loyana would own and possess the properties.
On the other hand, both powers of attorney indicate that Bashire shall be the beneficial owner of all the real estate to be bought by Loyana therefore; the plaintiffs shall be put to strict proof.
The ACC has denied that in 2011, Bashire decided to invest in real estate in Zambia and acknowledging that he was a foreigner and did not qualify to own property in his name in Zambia, he decided to collaborate with a Zambian while he provided funding stating that the claims are within the personal knowledge of the plaintiffs.
The ACC stated that in a statement dated 16 May 2018, addressed to ACC, Loyana stated that he only owned two properties, that is one in Chilenje and one in Chalala and denied buying any property from Lombe Bwalya and associates and also denying ever doing any business with them therefore Loyana shall be put to strict proof.
ACC also said that in a letter dated 11 July 2018, Suzan Sinkala, Loyana’s wife said she had only made one or two applications on behalf of other people and not the 24 applications alleged by the plaintiffs. And ACC has stated that it complied with the procedure of forfeiture of recovered property as stated in the ACC regulations of 2004.
It has not yet been established why Charles Loyana and his associates kept quiet or neglected to put in a claim when the matter involving the 48 houses was making rounds in both the mainstream and social media resulting in serious reputational damage for some senior government officials who had been accused of owning the said house through suspected proceeds of corruption.
