Transparency International Zambia says it is shocked at the acquittal of former Ministry of Health Human Resources Officer Henry Kapoko and others of corruption charges.
TIZ Executive Director Goodwell Lungu said the development raises a lot of questions and casts doubt on the PF government’s commitment to fighting corruption.
Mr. Lungu advised government to seriously consider appealing the judgement to a higher court.
He said TIZ is of the view that investigation officers did a good job on the case but wondered how the Magistrate Court acquitted Kapoko and others.
Yesterday, the Lusaka Magistrate Court set free Kapoko and eight others in theft charges relating to a contract awarded to Kahekam Limited for the supply of extra 50,000 of Mother-Baby-Kits (MBK).In delivering judgement, Senior Resident Magistrate Kenneth Mulife said having considered all the evidence in count four in the case, he was not satisfied that the prosecution had proved its allegations beyond reasonable doubt.
In 2009 former ministry of Health Human Resource Manager Henry Kapoko was charged with theft by public servant. Mr. Kapoko had been charged in relation to the K10 billion ministry of health corruption scam.
In his statement in 2009 Defence lawyer Kelvin Bwalya had said his client’s company KAHEKAM bid for the supply of the said consignment but lost, but the company that won failed to supply the 100,000 required mother baby kits at a cost of K2.2 billion and asked KAHEKAM to supply 50,000 since the company was second.
“It was at this point that Kapoko asked for a down payment and that was how he was given that K1.9 billion with a view to order and supply the consignment which had started arriving and the ministry was informed of the delay.
“ There was just a delay in the shipment of the consignment, part of it had already arrived, my client can not deliver because the line ministry wants it in complete form, the ministry is aware of the delay, the Ministry of Finance has also cleared it, the Government would have charged my client with liquidated damages according to the law than to incarcerate him,” he said.
He said his client was involved in a number of businesses, among others, he was running another business Hesakam Limited and supplied goods to the Ministry of Education, Konkola Copper Mines and Chibuluma with net profits ranging between K1.3 to K1.8 billion.
Mr Bwalya said it was not fair to assume that because Henry Kapoko was a civil servant he had no businesses and attack him on unfounded grounds.
Elyo mwa buka ba TIZ?I guess your honeymoon is now over?welcome to reality.
Cry my beloved country.
Not only shocking but disgusting
They want an autonomus judiciary but they keep on being compromised and act against their own cause. People of Zambia lets be vigilant. Even if Rome wasn’t built in a day this is not the way to go. Who doesn’t know the story surrounding Kapoko? When they are done with you don’t come back crying for your rights as a Judiciary. They will keep on firing you and your Judges and your system which you are crippling yourselves.
I was astonished as well that he was acquitted considering the overwhelming Information fed to the public, he colour of his skin, and his demeanour since he was accused
But then again, African is corrupt by default if you look at corruption cases, that are more sinister with curtailing someone’s political career than being punished or jailed accordingly, the precedence is terrible and Black people unless this changed the perception of the country and continent at large shall remain the same
What happened to Chiluba, Kalumba, Chungu, this list goes on. I would sack the judges involved in all these sadist judges who have no empathy for the public
Thanks
Is it u talking sense, ur human after all
Madam you cannot say anything without referring to the colour of the ski. you have a serious inferiority complex and the sooner you deal with the happier your life will be
Iyee! Except for your reference to Kapoko’s race, everything else you’ve said shows that you’re really growing and learning from the advice you get from bloggers on this site. Keep it up girl!
Bamakaka imwe.
And the Auditor-General is still in her office after informing the public that K27billion had been stollen from Ministry of Health by Kapoko and his friends and then you fail to prosecute the case successfully. Mrs Chifungula, what are you still doing in your office. Ask the ACC to appeal or resign.
Mob or people’s justice… I stopped commenting, yesterday I was suspended for insulting your DDP.
Zambia’s justice system at it again…
Anna Chifungula has overstayed in that office. Sata please fire her. She cant remain independent all this while. Auditor generals should only be in office for a maximum period of five.
She has done nothing wrong. She is neither the prosecutor nor the magistrate. She was just a witness, if at all she was even called to testify. All she did was bring out the issue. Blame those that arrested Kapoko for this
Goodwell Lungu: This is your pf govt, you know!
Kapoko donated massively to satas campaign.
Most corrupt givnment PF…hh is right to say these chaps have no plan. can some musician compose a song about this please..in response to donchi kubeba??
this man’s acquittal leave much to be desired..PF on the limelight..!
Mushora, For the first time I am getting your point. May be one day we shall know what you are made of.
Huh? Its an incoherent poorly worded diatribe designed to put down a black people and you cheer for it?
Mweo a guduwelo osadandaula yai……kodi ndalama zeiba kapoko ni zanu olo kapena ni za ambuya wanu olo ebila akazi banu kapena bani kaya……. shaaaa!!
who doesnt practice KAPOKOLISM you hyprocrits
Whats wrong with Mr. Lungu judgement has been passed and the the guy and his eight co-accused have walked to freedom. The men had really suffered. Justice has been done. What else.
Witch justice? ******wee.
Really suffered? First read the audit reports…go through the evidence provided in court, think of the hospitals without nurses and docs…think of what the funds could have done…then think again about who suffered and who is still suffering!
You can only be jailed when you are poor. Prisons are for poor people – when you have money, you can do anything you want. If you think this is a joke, just visit the prisons and ask those that are imprisoned.
But why did this case take so long?From 2008/9 to 22012, may be there wasn’t enough evidence to convict him but it does not mean he’s innocent.Thieves are intelligent too.
PF can/will never fight corruption in Zambia. PF duped Zambians at the pretext of fighting corruption to hoodwink the nation when infact they are aiding and abetting corruption at its core.
#5… Mushota?
Is……. that….you?
why should a billionaire or well earning businessman be working as civil servant????
I have been wondering the same thing as well
Blame Mutembo Nchito. This guy as chief public prosecutor never wins cases. To understand why you have to start looking at his Bank account in relation to the corruption cases he is prosecuting. Every acquittal results into a bulge in his account!
Ha ha ha. Its like Bill Gates or Mark Zuckerberg working for the Department of Health as a Human Resources Officer. It boggles the mind indeed.
Guy was minting K1.3billion profits from business and yet maintaining a govt job paying K2m? How ironic
Shows how empty the head of the migistrate is.
What next government to put more cash into his pocket as compensation at the expense of suffering citizens. Who then stole all the monies that went missing at health ministry. Its pure comedy, GOD curse them!
CHAPTER CLOSED…..SOMEONE HAS GIVE THE ACC AN ULTIMATUM…ONLY PA Z!
Oh GOOD! y r people complaining & blaming the PF Government? Are you not the same people that are against Judicial Review? The president tried to start cleaning up the corrupt judges & you’ve said NO! in fact, u are the very same people that support these corrupt judges…SO dont complain & let us all join hands & rejoice at the corruption levels the Judiciary is facing
Didn`t I tell you that this case will go no where because Kapoko is comfortably connected with the current system. The whole thing stinks to high heavens. It is a mockery to the citizens that toil every day. Thieves are regrouping.
Why shocked…I thought TIZ is now full time PF NGO
He is even pink with a lot of pimples because of jariboo. Plent of ma hule and a ka kulibonesha boy. Phew! *****!
Acquitting corrupt persons is the order of the day in Zambia. It seems the courts were created for pet thievies. Only marginal corrupt persons in public office have been punished. There is not much different between an armed robber and a corrupt person who hold a public office. If the armed robber was working in a public office he/she could not use a gun but use corrupt power without shedding blood. More likely, if the corrupt persons never held public office they would have used guns to obtain money at any cost. These corrupt persons have contributed 2/3 of poverty. Many people have died because of poverty. Corrupt persons have indirectly gunned down the people who have died from poverty. Should we continue to acquit corrupt people so that poverty can increase in Zambia? Part 1. See 2
@Mushota#5
Watchout there in the so called first sentence without full stops and meaningful well thought about jargons.The element of corruption is not well defined because it does not tie up with ‘by default’ as meaning that if one does not consider other choices or approaches which have rendered a different outcome of a matter especially the case in point, is therefore corrupt.Again curtailing does not fit anywhere in your socially constructed claim. How do you control someone’s political if he is not punished or incarcerated because he does not have a criminal record therefore he is free to engage into anything he sees fit. Stop writing nonsense here.
@Mushota#5
What overwhelming information was conveyed to the public which can over ride court verdicts. You are off the cream of the matter which is that opinions in the court of public opinions are not facts because people are tried based on rules which depart from insarnity, lies and emotions. What Mushota considers as the truth is in fact the opposite of her stupid denials and yet you add your uninformed rantings as if you are a legal adviser. Register at a law school there before you share your rubbish with the masses. Courts here in Africa as elsewhere operate on strict legal frameworks. Go to hell and claim your student fees.
Someone told us, we didn’t want to listen, we said its m…d playing tricks. Now its what we wanted over pf.
Zed at its best. There are trials by media, unexplained wealth accumulations, lynching of perceived wizards and witches … worse than the wild west!
BOOM
Why do you get a hard on, every time you see my name, you nincompoop. You are sperm that should have been captured in a condom and flushed down a toilet.proving
What part of stay away from me you do not understand? There is no animal so disgusting, so vile that it deserves comparison to you, for even the lowest, dirtiest, most parasitic member of the animal kingdom fills an ecological niche. You fill no niche. To call you a parasite would be injurious to the thousands of honest parasitic species.
BOOM, On an intelligence scale of 1 to 10 (10 corresponding to the highest attainable IQ) you’re rating is so far into negative numbers that one would need to travel into another quantum reality in order to even catch a distant glimpse of it.
Thanks
It pains 2 hear dat justice hs prevld in HK corruption case while Ukwa is busy cheating of fighting corruption.Only God cn change this tendance
Saying Kapoka has no case to answer is as good as saying Sata is a good leader!
People,lets be realistic,much as i don’t support stealing or corruption.It is inconceivable to see Kapoko behind bars when he made heavy investments into PF while in opposition.Yes Sata may be fighting corruption,but it would be betrayal of the worst kind if Kapoko was sent to prison over his stolen and donated money.Barack Obama’s aunt was an illegal here in the USA during elections and people made a fass about it,where is she now despite being an illegal?I bet you,she is still here and enjoying the fruits of being Obama’s aunt.My point is,wako ni wako will always exist.
Shocked? Y? It’s simple, the prosecution failed to prove their case beyond reasonable doubt. Mark, FAILED TO PROVE THEIR CASE BEYOND REASONABLE DOUBT. It’s means the state had no facts to prove Kapoko stole. Free at last.
Zambia is really a failed State! Only in Zambia can such things happen. Not even in Somalia. But Kapoko should know that Sata will never be in power forever. And you can trick man but not God! God is a God of justice. The money that was stolen from Ministry of Health could have saved many lives that died for lack of medication.
Back at home, in the arms of my man
This is life!
Thanks
@Mushota#38
You are sounding too dirt and sexy, why? You seem to be crazy about me,anyway I understand. There is nothing wrong with that and you will enjoy yourself down south. We have some of the best wine brands in the world and only French champaign producers are comparable to us. We have sunny golden nice beaches here in S.Africa and they are among the longest beaches in the world just like the Californian beaches, Palm beach in Florida, Brazilian beaches or the beaches down under in Australia (Perth, Sydney).Come to Cape Town, the garden route or Durban and I doubt it you will think of going back to Europe. I like dark ladies because I am fed up our light skinned women. I like darkies especially tall ones. Our ladies are beautiful and have big hips but I am not for that.
Good for you, just restrain from bringing my name in disrepute because I will keep skin you, you don’t sound intelligent to be honest
Thanks
I knew it! these two are kinder similar, thus the attraction is evident, i bet if they met in real they wouldnt resist each other. I only hope Mushota is a woman, otherwise, it would be catastophic for Boom, keep on guys, our Mr and Mrs Smith.
@Mushota#43
Our country is very wealthy and stop talking about us Africans as if we are experiencing same problems. Scotland produces nothing except empty pride and on the other hand we are the manufacturers of some of the most advanced military hardwares such as the complicated Rooivolk attack helicopters, military armour proof vehicles meant for the US market and the our motor industry produces BMWs, Hammers, Mercedes Benz models, all America makes and all Japanese cars. We produce Diamonds, Gold, Platinum, even many makes of heavy duty trucks. We also have finest universities and we are the best in engineering. This is America in Africa and we better than most European countries. Thank you
I wonder if Judge Mulife, the Chief Justice, Winter Kabimba, Mutembo Nchito, Mumba Malila, Musa Mwenye and Michael Sata can walk with their heads held high after this! I would really love to look at them straight in the eye. They ought to be ashamed of themselves and hide.
what is this
‘Am allergic to corruption’…allergies can be cured, better still some are seasonal!!!!!:(
This is how the PF government is fighting “Corruption”.
Kapoko twanwa nakambi!. You beat the system again.
Just a query – was Kapoko supplying the Ministry of Health with tender arrangements using his private business, while a civil servant of the same department? Conflict of interest anyone? Or is this part of the normal dispensation of things in Zambia?
I am shocked. Cry my beloved country.
“company that won failed to supply the 100,000 required mother baby kits at a cost of K2.2 billion and asked KAHEKAM to supply 50,000 since the company was second”
I did not know that a company that wins a tender and fails to delivery can ask the company that was next to delivery. Can someone with knowledge on this enlighten me, please
THE LAW IS LIKE A SPIDERWEB IN WHICH ONLY SMALL INSECTS GET CAUGHT BUT BIGGER ONES LIKE BEES AND WASPS GO THROUGH.
kapoko, please dont celebrate. umulandu taubola. this is one of those caseswhich will start to make headlines after the PF is gone. enjoy your delayed jail time. we shall see who will have the last laugh. zambians or you.
justice delayed is better forgoten,Zambians lets just put systems in place to help monitering of govt departments.Judiciary needs a serious look if we are to talk of meaningful fights of corruption.SAD FOR THE COUNTRY..at least we should have got even some conviction that bring back even abit of cash …..
Then Who stole the money that was purpoted 2 have bin misapropriated at Ministry of health? Now that the man that was at the center of this saga is off the hook, then who is the real thief?Thier are so many questions that nids answers.Having read some crime books i wld tell u that the HERNLY KAPOKO crime is a sydicate which involves some pipo that have power.These are guys that cld terminate ones life jst 4 the dolla.Lets brace ourselves 4 tough times ahead.Its survival of the Richest.
Kapokos conviction would have implicated the Mwanawasas, who were the real brains behind the operation. and that would have made RB look like the best president MMD ever had when all this emerged. Kapoko had to be excluded from this undesired outcome!
This is all proof that our governance systems are founded on principles of the LOO of LAW.
Dear Countrymen,
What would have shocked me would have been if he would have been convicted.
Consider this.
1.Corrupt prosecution (capacity to deliberately present poor case,after ZMK changes hands)
2.Corrupt police (Capacity to mess up crime scene and mislead ,ZMK changes hands)
3.Corrupt Judiciary (Case directed to particular judge,not randon,ZMK & USD changes hands)
4.Corrupts lawyers ( Pay master ,channel some ZMK & USD to Police,Judge,Prosecution)
5.Client is cash flash (Pays way out of case,ZMK & USD changes hands)
Future President.
Comedy of errors . dis country is going to dogs. lets act ba Zambia.
Very disgusting..
AM shocked!!!!!