Living Waters Church pastor for Chilomoni in Blantyre, Bobby Wales Kaombe, forged documents to obtain a bank loan using a piece of land belonging to somebody as collateral.
This is according to the High Court Commercial Division which found Kaombe alongside lawyers Shepher Mumba and Chimwemwe Kalua guilty of forgery.
Justice John Katsala and National Police spokesperson Davie Chingwalu said the forgery is being investigated by police.
Katsala faulted Kaombe, Mumba and Kalua for forging documents in the name of Fanny Kandoje Chiunda and presented them to NBS Bank to get the loan. The forged documents included details of Chiunda’s land which was used as collateral.
But Chiunda went to the USA in 2003 and has since not returned.
Kaombe, who got a K1 million (about $4 000) loan and defaulted, was exposed when the bank decided to get its money back by selling the land.
The bank advertised its intention to sell the land in a newspaper. Chiunda’s relative, Dylan Mafunga, saw the advert about the sale of the land, under title number Chilomoni 5/89, and rushed to court to stop the process.
In his August 3, 2012 ruling, Katsala lambasted the pastor for the forgery.
“What is before me is a case where the first defendant [Kaombe] stole or took without the knowledge or consent of the plaintiff title deeds for the plaintiff’s property, forged Powers of Attorney and borrowed money from the Bank pledging the property as security.
But in an interview on Wednesday, Kaombe shifted the blame to the lawyers who signed the documents.
“That is a difficult issue. Chiunda is my sister-in-law. That is not true that I forged documents. I did not write the Powers of Attorney. It is lawyer Chimwemwe Kalua. Kalua talked to my sister-in-law on the phone,†he said.
A bishop of the church in Blantyre, who did not want to be identified, said on Friday the church could not give its position on the pastor before getting details of the matter.
The bank lost the case.
