By 
High Court Judge Vincent Siloka is scheduled to rule on Wednesday on whether CCTV footage allegedly linked to the abduction of Independent Broadcasting Authority Director General Guntila Muleya can be admitted as evidence.
The ruling follows arguments between State and defence lawyers over the qualifications of a police forensic analyst who extracted and analysed the recordings.
The objection arose after Superintendent Nyambe Muyunda from the Zambia Police Forensic Science Department testified on CCTV recordings obtained from TotalEnergies Filling Station and Mika Convention Centre.
The footage forms part of investigations into the death of Mr. Muleya, whose murder allegedly occurred on July 23, 2024.
Police officers, M’Thusani Dokowe and Caleb Zulu, are jointly charged with systems engineer Samuel Dokowe and accountant Francis Chipyoka in connection with the case.
During submissions before the High Court, defence lawyers challenged Muyunda’s competence to present the evidence. They argued he was neither licensed under the National Forensic Act nor qualified as a forensic analyst because he lacked postgraduate qualifications.
Read More: Pathologist tells court IBA chief Muleya was likely assaulted before fatal shooting
State prosecutor Sipholiano Phiri told the court that the law only required institutions offering forensic services to be licensed, not individual officers employed by those institutions.
Phiri said the officer’s additional certificates in computer and mobile forensics, as well as cybersecurity, qualify as postgraduate studies obtained after his first degree in computer science.
He also dismissed claims that the witness was not competent to speak on the reliability and functionality of the CCTV systems.
According to the State, issues relating to the security and reliability of the system affect the weight the court may attach to the evidence, not its admissibility.
The prosecution has asked the court to allow the witness to formally produce the CCTV footage as evidence, stating that the defence would still have the opportunity to challenge it through cross-examination.
WARNING! All rights reserved. This material, and other digital content on this website, may not be reproduced, published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed in whole or in part without prior express permission from ZAMBIA MONITOR.
Comments