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A trail of unusually timed financial transactions amounting to more than K1 million has taken centre stage in the Lusaka High Court, where chilling testimony has linked internal payments at the Independent Broadcasting Authority (IBA) to the days surrounding the brutal murder of its Director General, Guntila Muleya.
Testifying before the court, IBA management accountant, Numel Mulenga, detailed a sequence of internal payments, altered bank records, and unexplained movements involving senior finance officials—transactions processed just days before and immediately after Muleya was gunned down.
Mulenga told the court that he joined IBA in December 2023 as an intern, working under accused management accountant Francis Chipyoka and financial accountant Peter Hambiya, who is alleged to be on the run and hiding in Australia.
His duties included filing, processing receipts and payment vouchers, and delivering approved payment instructions to the bank.
On 22 July 2024, the day Muleya was abducted, Mulenga testified that Hambiya prepared a payment of K462,000 towards IBA’s Zambia Revenue Authority (ZRA) liability.
“It was approved by the signatories and taken to the bank by Mr Hambiya,” he said.
The following day, 23 July 2024, at around 18:30 hours, Mulenga received a call from Chipyoka while he was driving.
“He informed me about the sad news of the passing of our late Director General, Mr Guntila Muleya,” he told the court.
“He asked if I had heard the announcement by the Permanent Secretary, but I told him I had not because I was driving and could not check social media.”
Barely a day later, on 24 July 2024, Hambiya prepared another payment instruction—this time amounting to K549,000, again purportedly for ZRA obligations.
Mulenga told the court that at the time, Chipyoka was in a boardroom meeting.
“Mr Hambiya asked me to take the instruction to the boardroom so that Mr Chipyoka could give signatories to sign,” he said.
“Mr Chipyoka said the meeting was almost done and that the signatories would sign from their respective offices.”
After the meeting, the payment instruction was signed.
Hambiya initially intended to deliver it to the bank himself, but later intercepted Mulenga in the car park.
“He asked me to take the instruction to the bank,” Mulenga testified.
It was at that point that he became alarmed.
“When I looked at the document, I became suspicious and asked, ‘Didn’t we process a payment on Tuesday, 22 July 2024, towards ZRA?’” he said.
“He responded by saying, ‘We are owing ZRA over K7 million plus.’”
Despite his suspicions, Mulenga delivered the instruction.
He told the court that the entire institution was placed on special leave the following week to allow forensic auditors to conduct investigations.
During this period, he was summoned to provide supporting documents—an exercise that revealed disturbing inconsistencies.
“I noticed that the bank statements the auditors were using were different from the ones I had been given by Hambiya to work on bank reconciliations,” he said.
“The statements I was given had missing figures. Only the auditors’ statements reflected the full amounts.”
Auditors obtained the statements directly from the bank, while reconciliations had been handled by Hambiya.
During cross-examination by Friday Mulenga Jr, the witness confirmed that Chipyoka was not a signatory to the IBA accounts and that no project accountant existed at the institution.
He said Elvis Besa, the technical manager, was responsible for handling projects.
Asked whether he knew of any altercation between Hambiya and the late DG, Mulenga said:
“As an intern, you are limited to information.”
Mulenga also confirmed that Hambiya had indicated he would travel to Australia, and that he left the country within the same week that Muleya was killed.
He said he knew Hambiya had applied for leave, which was denied by the late DG, but he did not know the exact date Muleya died—only that it occurred during that week.
He added that he had no knowledge of any memo regarding the approval of surveillance equipment allegedly declined by Muleya.
The accused persons in the matter are police officers M’Thusani Dokowe and Caleb Zulu, systems engineer Samuel Dokowe, and accountant Francis Chipyoka, who are facing a charge of murder.
Evidence before the court indicates that Dokowe and Zulu were allegedly hired to carry out the assassination.
Muleya was found dead in the Chongwe area, with gunshot wounds to the head and back.
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