A Pathologist at Lusaka’s University Teaching Hospital (UTH) has been convicted for possessing US$84,100 fake bank notes. Dr. Maswahu of Kabwata township admitted to being in possession of the counterfeit notes.
The court asked him whether it was true he was caught with the US$84,100 fake notes when the matter came up to which he responded in the affirmative.
His sentence has however been reserved to March 13 this year and he was remanded in custody.
In this matter the convict was facing one count of being in possession of counterfeit notes in the said value on March 14,2017.
The case came up on 5th March for facts which were read out by Drug Enforcement Commission DEC prosecutor Change Jere before Magistrate David Simusamba.
He informed the court that the convict was apprehended at Lusaka’s Levy Mall Shopping in a taxi where he was transacting.This was through DEC’s informers who spotted him at Levy Mall conducting the said business and thwarted the transaction in a hired taxi.
The officers nabbed both the doctor and the taxi driver who were taken to DEC offices and searched the bag which the convict was carrying.
“It was revealed that the bag contained five pieces of one hundred fake notes and eight hundred pieces of hundred counterfeit notes all valued at US$84,100,”.
The prosecutor also applied to have the said counterfeit notes forfeited to the state.
If we were a thinking people and had a thinking justice system we would sentence Dr.Maswahu to community service -working in a local clinic .It’s a complete waste to send him to prison when he could be saving lives…The bigger picture is Zambian doctors are underpaid and therefore resort to unfortunate means to raise money.I’m not condoning what he did but lets not follow the Western way of incarceration when our society badly needs doctors.
Very True Dr ABC… in England a Medical student stabbed her boyfriend and injured him but the judge said he was concerned about her career and let her goal.
I hear another Dr was sentenced to 3 years for insulting the president… they should just have given him community service.
If they can pursue government officials with so much zeal is exhibited with that Dr would elevate Zambia to a better place.
I thought a Pathologist works on dead bodies, so how would he save lives?
He can treat the prisoners too. Law is law and that is the reason law is impartial. Let him serve the allowable sentence for the crime to deter others from offending.
And incarcerate a poor and jobless youth who commits a similar offence ka? The doctor used to get enough to meet his basic needs. It is just that zambian professionals have equally joined the bandwagon of “let us get quicklies”. Crookedness has its own consequences regardless of one’s professional status. The Doc will be of use in prison where patients are equally found.
But why not engage in genuine business? As a medical Doctor, he is paid a decent salary by Zambian standards. Medical doctors employed by the government get not less than K20,000 ($2,000) per month which makes it the highest paid profession in the Zambian civil service. Surely, that’s enough to buy a bag of mealie meal, take your kids to some decent school and meet other basic requirements. Let’s learn to live within our means.
The Kwacha has fallen upon deportation of Zodwa Wa Bantu.
She is just another woman and I don’t know why we are so concerned about her presence in Zambia.
Any criminal acts should be punished a doctor is not a special being its just a professional like any other so for those concerned about his career he can help many prisoners who get sick. A prison has a community so he can help just there in prison
Community service for what? Send him to jail. He will practice community service in prison. Prisoners need Doctors also.
Pathologists spend most time in laboratories and never with patients. They simply study samples and do forensic work. Therefore, his services will not be missed much, besides he lacks integrity for the profession. He needs to spend some quality time in a correctional facility.
Impunity is alive and well in zambia, only those who are unfortunate are punished and others are looked upon as demigods, they’re untouchables even when it comes to public funds, it’s like row playing the story in the book titled”The ANIMAL FARM” were all animals were equal, but some animals were more equal than others. don’t know were we are going!
Could it be that he had very hincriminating evidence about someone in high offices after someone died in uneplained cicumstances and fake dollars were planted by state agencies? Just thinking. Pathologists do postmortems and they are very few in Zambia. Surely He could not be such a fool. Doctors are some of the most ethical proffessionals word wide.
HH’s roommate to bel Cellmate.
What happened to real court reporting in mother Zambia? This regurgitation of court records above is done by stenographers not reporters. Please train your journalists!
Law is law and therefore any offender should face the wrath of it…..if found guilty he should be sentenced just like any other offender……period
It’s unfortunate
Obatala you first train as a general doctor before you specialize to anything like pathology. Specializing in pathology doesnt mean he ceased to be medical doctor. He is a medical doctor