A Zambian court has handed former foreign minister Joseph Malanji a four-year prison sentence with hard labour after finding him guilty on seven charges linked to properties and helicopters believed to be proceeds of crime.
His co-accused, former secretary to the treasury Fredson Yamba, was sentenced to three years for authorising the transfer of public funds to Zambia’s mission in Turkey without following due process, according to court filings and local media.
While the court acknowledged that both men were first time offenders, it stressed that custodial sentences were necessary given the seriousness of the offences and the large sums involved.
These convictions are the most high-profile so far in a series of cases targeting figures from Edgar Lungu’s former government, even as the opposition Patriotic Front accuses President Hakainde Hichilema of using the courts for political retribution.
In May, the United States froze around $50 million in annual health sector support to Zambia, citing “systemic theft” of donated medical supplies. Although Lusaka launched an audit, prosecutions have yet to follow.
Lungu, who ruled Zambia from 2015 to 2021 and under whom Malanji served between 2018 and 2021, died in South Africa on June 5. A legal battle over his repatriation and funeral arrangements has since stirred fresh political tensions in the country.
