A former Zesco employee, Daniel Namanga, has been sentenced to three years with hard labour after being found guilty of possessing property suspected to be proceeds of crime.
Lusaka Magistrate Ireen Wishimanga convicted Namanga over the illegal acquisition of a plot valued at K1.5 million in Ibex Hill Gardens.
The court heard that Namanga was in possession of Plot Kabu/100/787/CL13 at the NAPSA complex in Ibex Hill, which he allegedly acquired through proceeds of crime.
He was charged under Section 71(1) of thee Forfeiture of Crimes Act No. 19 of 2010 laws.
During trial, Valentine Kaira, a retiree, testified that Namanga had rented a farm on Mungwi Road from 2016 to 2018, where he operated a poultry business.
However, she stated that she had no knowledge of his financial capacity to purchase a high-value property.
A second witness, Trevor Kalwa Kaunda, a permanent secretary at the Ministry of Finance, testified that he initially attempted to purchase Flat 3 at the NAPSA complex in 2020.
He made two payments totaling K1,520,000, but the transaction was later revoked after NAPSA determined it had not followed the required public advertising process. He was refunded in full.
NAPSA Investment Officer Andrew Mecha testified that after the revocation of Kaunda’s transaction, the property was advertised in January 2021.
Namanga expressed interest and eventually made payments in three installments through his proxy, Suzyo Nyika, who later passed away.
However, the court found that there was no documentary evidence linking Nyika to Namanga’s purchase.
Banker Masiliso Wasamu from AB Bank testified that Namanga opened an account in November 2021, around the same time he received a K50,000 loan, but his financial records did not reflect the large sums required for the property purchase.
Tenant Mursel Tasdan testified that he had lived in Flat 3 for eight months, paying rent to Thandiwe Daka, whom he believed managed the property on behalf of Nyika.
Daka, a human resources assistant at Nyimba Investment, testified that Nyika had told her he owned the flat but never provided any documentation.
Police Inspector Peter Phiri, the lead investigator, testified that Namanga’s salary from Zesco, totaling K681,936.36 between 2015 and 2022, was insufficient to justify the purchase. Additionally, he could not provide NAPSA sale documents or prove he had ever dealt directly with the agency.
Namanga claimed he was a businessman involved in poultry farming, real estate, and car trading.
He stated that he owned multiple properties and operated a school valued at K2 million.
However, no official financial records were presented to support his claims.
Nyimba Investment Limited accountant Evans Kayaula testified that K520,000 was paid to Namanga for maize supplies.
However, the court found no supporting evidence linking these funds to the flat purchase.
The court ruled that Namanga failed to demonstrate legitimate financial capacity to acquire the property.
It found that the flat was reasonably suspected to be a proceed of crime.
In her judgment, Magistrate Wishimanga stated that the prosecution had proven its case beyond a balance of probabilities.
She convicted Namanga and sentenced him to 36 months imprisonment with hard labour effective February 17, 2025.
