VZCZCXRO7137
RR RUEHBZ RUEHDU RUEHJO RUEHMR RUEHRN
DE RUEHLS #1197/01 3651431
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
R 301431Z DEC 08
FM AMEMBASSY LUSAKA
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 6580
INFO RUCNSAD/SOUTHERN AF DEVELOPMENT COMMUNITY COLLECTIVE

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 LUSAKA 001197 
 
SENSITIVE 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PGOV KCOR KWMN SNAR ZA
SUBJECT: ATTORNEY GENERAL SUPPORTS PROGRESS ON ANTI-MONEY 
LAUNDERING, WOMEN'S JUSTICE, AND ANTI-CORRUPTION 
 
¶1.  (SBU) Summary:  On December 24, Attorney General (AG) 
Mumba Malila shared with Ambassador his intention to 
recommend to Cabinet the establishment of a Financial 
Intelligence Unit that meets international standards and 
expressed his support for the Women's Justice and Empowerment 
Initiative, as well as other governance and anti-corruption 
measures.  Malila serves as the chief legal advisor to the 
Zambian Government (GRZ) and represents the GRZ on all civil 
disputes.  The AG is also the Chair of the GRZ's Anti-Money 
Laundering Authority and the Special Rapporteur for Prisons 
and Conditions of Detention on the African Commission on 
Human and Peoples' Rights.  End Summary. 
 
Anti-Money Laundering 
--------------------- 
 
¶2.  (SBU) The AG acknowledged a recent Eastern and Southern 
African Anti-Money Laundering Group (ESAAMLG) peer review 
that found Zambia deficient of an internationally viable 
Financial Intelligence Unit (FIU).  He said that he intends 
to convene an interagency meeting to begin preparing 
recommendations for Cabinet.  He noted that the dismissal (on 
corruption charges) in 2007 of the Drug Enforcement 
Commissioner and Deputy Commissioner, both of whom had 
previously opposed the creation of an administrative FIU, 
paved the way for GRZ-wide agreement.  According to Malila, 
previous GRZ reluctance to move forward on AML also stemmed 
from Zambian memory of the "ruthless" acts of a former 
Special Investigations Team on Economy and Trade, a one-time 
financial arm of the security services that sought to strip 
businesses and political foes of their wealth. 
 
Human Rights 
------------ 
 
¶3.  (SBU) The Ambassador recognized the AG for his former 
experience as Chair of Zambia's Human Rights Commission and 
inquired into prison congestion in Zambia, consisting 
primarily of detainees awaiting trial.  The AG emphasized his 
concern for this issue, particularly given his activities on 
the African Commission on Human and Peoples' Rights.  He said 
the Ministry of Justice is preparing legislation that will 
allow law enforcement authorities to release prisoners 
awaiting trial who have been detained for a period equal to 
the maximum sentence of the crime for which they have been 
arrested.  The Ambassador also recommended evaulating the 
prosecutorial merit of pending cases in order to help 
decongest Zambia's prison system. 
 
¶4.  (SBU) The Ambassador underscored the importance of 
confronting gender-based violence in order to address some of 
the root causes of HIV/AIDS.  The AG said he was familiar 
with the USG's Women's Justice and Empowerment Initiative 
(WJEI) as well as recent USG training to Zambian prosecutors. 
 He promised to offer his office's continued support to WJEI. 
 
Anti-Corruption 
--------------- 
 
¶5.  (SBU) The Ambassador inquired into the status of several 
critical anti-corruption bills (asset forfeiture, asset 
disclosure, evidence, plea bargaining, and whistleblower 
protection) that the USG had supported but which had not been 
presented to parliament for approval.  Although the AG was 
familiar with these bills, he was unsure of their status.  He 
took the Ambassador's point that, in order to continue to 
qualify for a Millennium Challenge Account compact, Zambia 
would need to show continued progress in its anti-corruption 
efforts. 
 
¶6.  (SBU) Regarding the UK "Zamtrop" judgment, in which a 
British High Court found former President Chiluba and 
numerous others liable for stealing over USD 40 million in 
government funds, the AG said that the ruling must be 
registered in a Zambian court in order for the GRZ to enforce 
it against Zambian-based defendants.  He attributed the delay 
in registering the May 2007 judgment to the delaying tactics 
of the defendants, consisting of a series of appeals in the 
UK and Zambia.  He also noted that the Zambian judge with 
whom the AG's office intended to register the UK ruling had 
been killed in a car accident in mid-December.  Nevertheless, 
he thought the decision could be registered in early 2009 for 
enforcement. 
 
¶7.  (SBU) The AG said he was eager to hear the court decision 
regarding the authority of the Task Force on Coruption, an 
ad hoc body established by executive rder in 2002 to 
prosecute acts of high-level coruption committed during the 
administration of fomer Prsident Chiluba.  The case 
concerns the reusal of businessmen Aaron Chungu and Faustin 
Kabw to appear before the Task Force on Corruption for 
 
LUSAKA 00001197  002 OF 002 
 
 
questioning, on the basis that the Task Force lacks a legal 
mandate and is therefore unconstitutional.  The AG, however, 
thought it unlikely that the High Court judge would approve 
Chungu's and Kabwe's motion, as this would delegitimize 
former President Mwanawasa's entire anti-corruption campaign. 
BOOTH