Lusambo granted bail, remains in prison

By GRACE CHAILE

THE Lusaka Magistrate’s Court has ruled that former Lusaka Province Minister Bowman Lusambo must pay K5.2 million to the State after it was established that he unlawfully possessed six uncompleted flats built on land belonging to another person, an interested party, Mukuka Munkonge.

Chief Resident Magistrate Davies Chibwili delivered the ruling in a matter where the flats were deemed tainted property, noting that although the structures were illegally acquired, the land itself belonged to Mr Munkonge. As a result, the court ordered that Lusambo reimburse the State, with the amount now treated as a debt owed by him.
Magistrate Chibwili also ordered the forfeiture of Lusambo’s high-value residential property in Chamba Valley, estimated at over K17 million. However, the State cannot dispose of the property yet, as Lusambo has filed a case in the High Court challenging the forfeiture and three years convction.

Lusambo, who is currently serving a four-year sentence for corruption handed down in 2024, appeared in court in a seemingly jovial mood. Despite being granted K500,000 bail in his own recognizance,alongside three sureties of equal value he will not regain his freedom as he continues to serve his earlier sentence in a different case.
On November 8, 2024, the Economic and Financial Crimes Court sentenced Lusambo to four years’ imprisonment with hard labour for corruption and fined him K27,000 for tax evasion. The new financial orders add to his mounting legal setbacks.
The properties at the centre of the latest ruling include Lusambo’s Chamba Valley residence and the six incomplete flats constructed on Mr Munkonge’s leased land. The court found that although the structures were tainted due to unlawful possession, the landholder’s rights remained intact.

The matter was not opposed by the State and the court maintained that the relevant laws required Lusambo to compensate for the tainted property despite the underlying land not being forfeitable.