The Kitwe High Court last week sentenced an 84-year-old woman of Ndeke township in Kitwe to 30 days simple imprisonment for obtaining pecuniary advantage by false pretences.
In 2011, Elizabeth Maimbolwa sold a house at K110,000 but after the buyer made full payment, she rescinded her decision and only refunded K70,000.Maimbolwa left a balance of K40,000, which she declined to pay.
In December 2013, Maimbolwa was jailed and sentenced to two years simple imprisonment by the Kitwe subordinate court, which was suspended on condition that she refunded the K40,000 she owed the complainant. Maimbolwa, on December 29, 2011 in Kitwe, obtained K110,000 cash, a transaction she made herself liable to, but in whole neglected to pay.
Maimbolwa appealed against both the conviction and the sentence imposed on her by the subordinate court.
But in his judgment delivered on Wednesday, High Court judge Dominic Sichinga dismissed Maimbolwa’s appeal.Mr Justice Sichinga said the trial court was on firm ground to convict Maimbolwa.
“I have no doubt that the appellant was deceptive and the trial court came to its conclusion upon evaluating all the evidence on record,” Mr Justice Sichinga said.
He observed that Maimbolwa, in her mitigation before the lower court, was defiant and vowed never to return the money.Mr Justice Sichinga, however, noted that he had not come across any authority which gave a convict an alternative of a suspended sentence if they refunded the money owed.
He quashed the sentence imposed by the subordinate court and in its place imposed a 30-day simple imprisonment sentence on Maimbolwa.Mr Justice Sichinga granted Maimbolwa leave to appeal to the Supreme Court.Mr Justice Sichinga said he was mindful of Maimbolwa’s age in imposing the 30-day simple imprisonment sentence.
…Old habits die hard. You cant teach an old dog new tricks. Good riddance. Looks can be deceiving.
She should stay there for the rest of her life
Thanks
BB2014
This made me laugh! I don’t think she grasps the meaning of all this in terms of courts enforcing financial agreements, she is of a different era! Poor lady, bless her silly soul!
I hope this is not a case of signing documents of sale before the buyer completes buying the house.
Which ever way you look at it, the woman should be given a suspended sentence and given ample time to pay back.
What is K40, 000, compared to what crooks like Mmembe and Nchito et al are owing?
What happened to compassionate grounds in the Zambian legal system?
In the UK that woman would never be jailed no matter over debt no matter what
Ok this is what happened, but now where are the so-called Zambian millionaires to fix this.
I don’t know if I should call her a con-man or con-mbuya because the latter is something you can only find in a James Bond movie.
Sorry Mbuya but you had it coming.
Watenga ndalama wachita anso refuse tizakumanga…. iwe wanyozela boma uzangena mujema manje!
simple imprisonment get it you people
Jesus is saying, “sin no more,lest a worse thing come to you.
Verily, verily, I say unto you, any person that hear my word,
and believe on Him that sent me,has everlasting life and shall
not come to condemnation; but is passed from death unto life”.
May God save our grandmother from all evil and give her the
grace to endure up to the end of her life, here on the surface
of this world.
We will continue giving her respect despite of the shortcomings
in her life.
Who is Jesus? Are you going to foolishly believe everything written about a fictious character who was made up by script writers with hidden agendas?
My dogs name is Lord Jesus Christ.
@ Jay Jay and Dog owner
You are saying like this because you are not believers. You are going
to appreciate what i am saying when Christ visits your soul, spirit and body. How i pray He visits you today.
I am fully convinced that Jesus will visit you, it might be this afternoon, evening or at night. He is the Saviour of this world and He
loves you so much.
Read John 10:10-11.
I’ll be waiting for him at tea time!!
Imagine what she was like when she a young woman…!
I think it is her children who influenced her decision. So the poor fellow who paid her that money has lost since the woman is serving her sentence?
The old woman is not only a con woman, but a danger to society.
She should have been arrested for over five years with hard labour. Angajaire kudya ndalama zabene mambala. She gets somebody’s money rescind her decision to sell the house and fails to give back the full amount to the owner. That’s unreasonable behaviour from a person of her age. The best she could have done is to apologise. Afunika ku Mukobeko Maximun Prison
She should have got advice from Membe and Nchito on how not to pay back debts.
Therein lies the duplicity of the law. While Mmembe and Nchito can escape on technicalities associated with Zambian Airways being a legal entity, despite loans being accessed and spent by the directors, this old woman commissioned that “crime” in her capacity making it difficult to deflect the matter as it were onto some legal entity.
This one case I will not comment on. Suffice it to say I feel pity for the one who lost their money.
@Ndaka Khakis. That is a comment in which your feelings are reflected.
Ndeke houses in Kitwe are now valued at K350,000. The buyer also wanted to take perculiar advantange of her old age to buy her house very cheapily. He is equally a cone man.
Jay jay and dog owner just repent
Presidential pardon!!!!
jail for 84 year old owing k 4000.
what about mmembe and cartel owing billions and are still enjoying life to the fullest?
what justice?
They have money for lawyers that’s the difference!!
were are her children or are you saying the old lady has no children or family members at all
Poor Old Lady, rotting in Chux, when She probably needed the cash more.
Why Not our Zambian Criminals who have Dodgy (clandestine) Swiss accounts? How bout the Wife of an ex- Zambian President, who never owned let alone a Spoon, before she got herself hitched to the late ex- leader, but recently was stopped from buying a Shopping Mall in Finland worth Millions of U.S. Dollars??
These are the Parasites who deserve to be where this poor Woman is.
AFTER ALL THIS, WE EVEN HAVE THE AUDACITY TO CALL OURSELVES INDEPENDENT!! Sha!!!
Misleading heading ba LT. It should be” 84 year old woman jailed for false pretences”.
If I were this magistrate, I would have have given the complanant K40,000 and end this shameful thing of imprisoning our grandmas.
Zambian politicians do this all the time yet it never goes to court. They put their friends in high places, send diplomats on missions they are not fit or capable of doing causing more harm to society and embarrassing Zambia. This is what you are producing and I blame the government. If you can do it, why won’t these people do it? Police officers rapping innocent women and beating them to a pulp but what has been done? Nothing and the guy is scott-free on leave. The is what society is producing.
I have ever dealt with this old woman when I used to work in a shop in kitwe town. She is troublesome to say the least.
when old citizens are neglected this is what you expect