The Economic and Financial Crimes Court sitting in Ndola has granted bail to former Postmaster general Macpherson Chanda and two others pending their appeal.
This is in a case in which Chanda, Best Mwaichi and Isaac Kamwimba were convicted and sentenced to two years simple imprisonment for corrupt practices involving over 300 million Kwacha.
The trio, in their capacities as postmaster general, director of finance and director of operations, unlawfully diverted Social Cash Transfer funds amounting to K335, 108, 834 without lawful authority.
Kaunda Sakwanda ordered Chanda, Mwaichi and Kamwimba to provide two working sureties in the sum of K50, 000 each in their own recognizance.
Magistrate Kaunda further stayed the execution of the statutory judgement which was entered in the favour of the Attorney general in the sum of K335 million.
On Monday this week, Chanda,Mwaichi and Kamwimba appealed against their two year jail sentence arguing that the court erred when it found that the prosecution discharged its burden of proof beyond reasonable doubt.
When the case came before the Economic and Financial Crimes Court in Ndola, Magistrate Kaunda Sakwanda established that it was indisputable that the funds were placed in a fixed deposit account.
However, in a notice of appeal filed in the Ndola Magistrate’s Court on Monday this week, Chanda, Mwaichi and Kamwimba argued that their conviction was not fair.
The trio said the trial court erred in law and fact when it discontinued the applicability of section 10 of the third schedule of the postal services Act number 22 of 2009.
They further argued that the court erred when it held that the charge was not defective.
“The trial court erred in law and fact in convicting the accused persons when it was fully aware of witnesses tampering by the state.he said.
It also erred by invoking the provisions of section 17(1) (a) of the laws of the Criminal Procedure Code Chapter 88 of the Laws of Zambia in the absence of actual loss of any property belonging to the government, “reads the notice of appeal.
They will serve this limited jail time and then return to K300m they have stashed, well, looks like if you ask many Zambians, this is an option they’d take.
The appeal will be held. The Court gave too much weight to political imperatives.
Luciferus Calypto this makes your reasoning severely impaired.
Unfortunately it the law that allows
At least we should be thankful its not PF days when politics ruled the day
The appeal will be allowed regardless. You people should learn to reason deontologically.
The sad thing about this case , which is typical of Africans, is………
While they were being creative with bending rules on using GRZ money just on the sidelines of pure theft ………
I can bet you , ZAMPOST was loss making and its efficiency was in decline as a company……….
Then you have aspiring politicians like Sean tembo defending them and calling them clever while the company was being run into the ground………….
My friend from Nigeria is on the way to Zambia to come and steal millions. After being granted bail, he plans to start a scamming shop in Zambia. You are welcome my friend. After we in Zambia live in a paradise full of cartels and full thieves.
Still unclear as to what exactly was stolen because according to them all they did was divert the funds into a fixed deposit account just to earn interest for zampost and then disbursed the money as required while interest remained in zampost account.
@Razor, No single ngwee was stolen, it was a clear case of miscarriage of justice by an clueless magistrate. There is no single judge at the high court who will uphold this conviction on a charge of ‘theft’.
“a clueless..
Kikikikikiki Jail is for Spaka and Tarino Orange…..big criminals will never see the inside of Jail
Appeals can go either the sentence can be increased all the best