MATHEWS MOHAN – AND THE SAJID ITOWALA MURDER
#Thread
#Thread
CYCLONE HARDWARE Chief Executive Offi cer, Sajid Itowala was murdered in July 2009. His body was found dumped in his Toyota Landcruiser in Lusaka west.
Two units, ‘The Scorpion’ and ‘C5’ at Lusaka Central Police began to investigate the murder. Soon theleads pointed to a house behind the Brazilian Embassy off Independence Road where a painter doing his job on the roof saw suspicious events.
Upon investigations, the house revealed that it was vacant and currently on sale and belonged to Mr.Igbol Rathi, father to Seymon Holdings Proprietor, Anuj Krishman Kumar Rathi, who was under-going criminal trial and was remanded in custody
Rathi was being tried for a case that saw former Zambia National Service commander Gen. Wilson Funjika jailed. He had earlier fled the country but was lured back to the country by Task-Force on Corruption officers.
Police picked Mr. Rathi to account for events that occurred at his house and led to Sajid’s death. Mr.Rathi expressed surprise and disclosed that he had given Mohan Mathews Ink-tech Managing Director,the duty to sell the house for him.
After the murder Mohan began to offer leads to his circle of friends, people and police officers about the murder describing the details and the ‘Mafia Tactics’ that were used to kill Sajid. He began to disclose details that appeared too intimate for a non-player.
Police soon summoned Mohan to help with investigations. He chose to ignore the call-outs and shifted from his parent’s house. Police started a quiet manhunt.
Mohan was only picked up a week later, on August 3 2009, when he was attempting to go his parents home. Officers had laid surveillance on his house for days.
Mohan cooperated with the police and revealed that he had played a role in Sajid’s capture but not his murder. He stated that his role only ended up with luring Sajid to the house.
Mohan stated the capture,torture and murder of Sajid was done by other persons who he suspected where hired killers from South Africa. H e said that he was paid USD50, 000.00 down payment to bring Sajid to people that wanted him.
Mohan further revealed the money came from Sajid’s business rivals that included Idris Suleiman Pateland Shabir Suleiman Patel of Crown Paints. Idris and Shabir were currently remanded in custody facing similar charges of conspiracy to murder, as Mohan.
Police assessed the evidence that showed the extent of Mohan and the two brother’s involvement. On one hand, there is a scenario of hired assassins.
The other is that a decoy was created that there was acase of foreign assassins when the murder was committed by the three with other local known thugs and car dealers.
At play were great interests from both the victim’s family and suspects’ family that kept on paying senior police officers to either expedite investigations on hand or bungle the investigations on the other.
Sajid was connected to many senior police and politicians. In fact his phone revealed texts and calls to Senior Police officers, Judges, Politicians and Lusaka City Council (LCC) and Ministry of Lands officials that seem to have formed a corrupt circle beneficial to Sajid.
Sajid had recently acquired a string of properties and prime empty plots of lands, sometimes under suspicious circumstances. He had also purchased the business complex in at the corner of Cairo and Kalundwe roads from Galaun Holdings.
Investigations revealed that there were two plausible reasons that motivated the murder. Either or both facts are said to have motivated the murder.
1.RATHI CASE- Mr. Rathi is said to have been approached by Mohan Mathews and Task-Force on Corruption officers that he should pay an amount of USD1million to help free his son from the case he was facing in Court.
Mr. Rathi released an initial amount of USD200, 000.00 to help with the case. Mr. Rathi released this money to Sajid as he had reservations to hand it over to Mohan.
Sajid claimed that he gave Lusaka PRM Charles Kafunda this money. Mohan and Task Force officers discovered that the money never reached the magistrate.
Hence they picked Sajid, tortured him toconfess and surrender back the money. Sajid was found with broken legs, broken ribs and arms.
2. BUSINESS RIVALS- Idris and Shabir were being held because Mohan had implicated them. The two released USD50,000.00 hours before the murder and evidence in text message validated this claim.
Crown Paints hired a Chemist for their paint business from Pakistan. This Chemist stole from the Patels and attempted to flee back to Pakistan. He was cornered in Nairobi Kenya by Interpol and repatriated back to Zambia.
Later this Chemist joined Sajid’s firm. This and other incidences forms part of the rivalry and consternation Sajidnhad brought to his colleagues in the Indian community. It is said that there were too many toes that Sajid had stepped on.
The two events seemed to have motivated the murder. It is said a hired assailants squad was imported from South Africa and Mohan was used to lure Sajid to them.
THE ESCAPE AND CAPTURE
There were several escape plots that were thwarted by Police. Whilst in custody Mohan was offered an escape but was advised by his family that he was risking his life by taking bait from the same officers that was investigating him.
There were several escape plots that were thwarted by Police. Whilst in custody Mohan was offered an escape but was advised by his family that he was risking his life by taking bait from the same officers that was investigating him.
The family advised that Mohan ran away, he was going to be the centre of the allegations especially that there were known killers that took Sajid’s life and Mohan’s role was conspiratorial
Mohan later informed the police that the day he escaped, ‘with the help of the system’, he picked up a taxi in Burma Road minutes away from Ridgeway Police Post and went to his offices on 27, Ngumbo Road, Longacres.
He slept there for two nights. He called several people urging them not to worry as he had crossed into Zimbabwe and was okay.
But he didn’t go to Zimbabwe, he went to Dominic Nsokoshi’s place off Alick Nkhata road where he was found two weeks later.
What gave Mohan away was his incessant calls to many people. His numerous numbers were all being traced to a cell site in Kalingalinga. The substantial financial reward offered by the victim’s family for the capture also motivated many to begin to give the police clues
When Police issued a statement on Friday 11 September 2009 that they knew where Mohan was hiding and stated that they were closing in. Mohan feared for his life. He opened contacts with police officers who he felt where ‘civil’ and requested them to evacuate him to Kafue.
The officers alerted their boss and played along.
On Monday, 14 September 2009, the officers picked Mohan up who was disguised as a woman. He pleaded with them not to take him to Lusaka Central Police as he feared he would be killed. The Police took him to Lilayi Training School were they conducted debriefings.
Despite the drama, the corruption and numerous attempts, the trial got underway and 28 witnesses testified exposing the murder plot.
MATHEW Mohan, ended up on death row at Mukobeko Maximum Correctional Facility in Kabwe after being convicted of murder, a conviction he, nonetheless, describes as persecution.
He was sentenced to death by hanging but after spending nearly a decade in prison, He was pardoned by former President Edgar Lungu in August 2021
Source - Zambian Watchdog, Zambia Daily Mail
PART 2:
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