Friday, March 29, 2024

Five in court for stealing HIV test kits

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High Court

Three Ministry of Health (MoH) employees and two businessmen have appeared in the Lusaka Magistrate’s Court for stealing HIV test kits.

The trio James Kalaba 41, Jerome Zulu 35 both laboratory technician and Seay Nyendwa 27 a biomedical laboratory technician are facing one count of theft by public servant contrary to section 272 and 277 of the Laws of Zambia.

And the two businessmen Innocent Chambawilo 35 and Jasper Chambawilo, 30 all from Matero Township in Lusaka are facing one count of conveying stolen property contrary to section 319 (b) of the Laws of Zambia.

In count one the accused being persons employed in the MoH as lab technicians and biomedical lab technicians did jointly steal 50 by 100 determine HIV test kits altogether valued at K5,000 the property of the Government which came into their possession by virtue of their employment between June 16 and November 16 last year.

The two businessmen are alleged to have jointly conveyed 50 by 100 determine HIV test kits valued at K5,000 the property of which were reasonably suspected to have been stolen or unlawfully obtained from the Government.

They all took plea before Lusaka Magistrate Irene Wishimanga where they all denied the charge and trial had been set for January 15, 2017.
Recently a sister paper the Sunday Times carried an article where a coalition of civil society organizations expressed their grave concern regarding the current HIV test kit shortage nationwide.

They warned that unless the situation was addressed immediately, the community of people living with HIV and AIDS (PLA) would have no option but to embark on mass action.

“Recent developments such as the delivery of expired test kits to facilities in February and the expiration of about 500,000 test kits in the country’s’ medical store has highlighted Zambia’s poor supply chain management system,” they said.

The group called on the government to ensure that someone is held accountable for these avoidable lapses in HIV test kit supply.
The coalition stressed that CSOs have a moral responsibility to speak out against acts of negligence, corruption and misapplication of resources in any public office that might bring disrepute to the country and untold suffering to innocent Zambian citizens.

12 COMMENTS

    • These Bemba and Nyanja thieves will be stealing HIV infected blood next. Are there no morals in these PF strongholds? These are PF00LISH times indeed.

    • This has nothing to do with tribe! My friend a Kaonde was imprisoned for stealing medicines from the KCH mental section in 1978. Just admit you have a problem personally.

  1. Just imagin to b embraced over a simple K5,000 & hw much ar dey going to?.vipuba let dem face de reality these cheap thieves.

  2. kombo the vibupa’s are the baboons you voted in who have led to professional civil servants being desperate enough to steal a mere hiv test kit. The funny thing is that these chaps probably stole these kits and are probably hiv positive themselves without knowing it. The virus might kill them before the hunger does kikiki ala poverty mu zambia under pf

  3. This is heinous theft that must not be tolerated no matter how little is involved ad it is tantamount to ” killing” the people who have been deprived of this service. However the problem is that it is always the “small fish ” who are been dealt with while the “big fish ” are getting away with billions and literary” killing ” the whole country. Justice needs to be done and seen to be done in all cases. In fact if the big ones are dealt with message will get through to every one as an example to stop

  4. This is becoming serious in zambia now,innocent poor zambians are dying because when they go to the clinic all they get is paracetamol they rest you are told to go and buy.some zambian health staffs are thieves so let those guys face the law and be cage with hard labour.

  5. What do you expect from these imbeciles ? All these characters learned how to steal from their chief instructor Edgar Chapona Lungu. It’ s a system which is within their DNA and it’ s inescapable. Edgar Chapona Lungu forced his way into State House by publicly stealing the votes from Hakainde Hichilema. Even those who were still in their mothers’ wombs saw what happened so, what do you expect from his henchmen? They are also following their leader’ s footsteps – stealing and getting everything from people by force and then on Sunday, they go to church where they dance and sing like devoted Christians saying, may the name of Jehovah God be praised yet inside their hearts, they know the evils they keep on committing.

  6. @ BUCK TEETH LUNGU. You have summarized my intended contributions. Cheers!!!!

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