A Zambian court has sentenced former foreign minister Joseph Malanji to four years in prison with hard labour for corruption. Malanji was arrested for allegedly using embezzled state funds to acquire property, including two Bell 420 helicopters.
Malanji, who served under former president Edgar Lungu from 2018 to 2021, will serve “four years imprisonment with hard labour”.
Similarly, the minister’s charged associate, Fredson Yamba, is given a three-year custodial sentence under magistrate Irene Wishimanga.
Issuing the sentence, Magistrate Ireen Wishimanga said she had shown “leniency” towards the law breakers because they were first-time offenders.
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Yamba was accused of facilitating the transfer of more than $8 million to Zambia’s mission in Turkey without clarification. Joseph Malanji earned the nickname “Bonanza” because he was known for his generosity and for mingling with the public.
The duo were the first top officials from Lungu’s government to be arrested on embezzlement charges after President Hakainde Hichilema took office. Moreover, the conviction represented a rare win for state prosecutors in a southern African nation often ranked among the world’s most corrupt.
At present, more than 64 percent of the population in copper-rich Zambia lives in poverty, leading critics to describe the president’s promise to root out corruption as “sluggish.”
The critics accused the country’s president of being lenient with his ministers despite the country’s widespread corruption. Zambia’s government pledged an investigation into the scandal, yet no prosecutions have occurred so far, fueling criticism of inaction.
Lungu died of natural causes in South Africa in June, but has not yet been buried. This is reportedly due to a dispute between his family and the government over his funeral arrangements.
