8 accountants go in for stealing housing allowances

May 6, 2009
EIGHT accountants were yesterday jailed for five years each with hard labour for stealing K1.6 billion meant for housing allowances for workers in various departments under the Ministry of Home Affairs on the Copperbelt, Northern, Central and Eastern provinces.

Handing down the sentence, Lusaka High Court deputy director of operations Edward Musona said he was convinced beyond reasonable doubt that the eight stole the money, thereby depriving the intended beneficiaries.
“I have heard the convicts’ mitigation, but looking at the money involved and that the intended beneficiaries were denied their rights, I now order that the convicts suffer a custodial sentence of five years each with hard labour,” he said.

Musona said there was also evidence from the provincial accountants of not letting the intended beneficiaries sign on the schedules as an indication that they had received the money, and the missing cash could only be accounted for by the people in charge.

Musona, sitting as a magistrate, however, acquitted the three who were jointly charged with the five convicts. He acquitted Shadreck Mtonga, Jimmy Lozani and Graphas Sinyangwe on grounds that the prosecution team had failed to prove the case against the trio. Those jailed are Bonaventure Chembe, Kenneth Hamusonde, Edward Kombe, Nathan Mwanza, Edward Bwalya, Christopher Sinkala, Kambobe Lyambai and Lloyd Mudenda.

The 11 were facing 27 counts of theft by public servant and money laundering between August 2004 and June 2005 involving K1.595, 917,924.17 and acquired property from the proceeds of an illegal act contrary to the Laws of Zambia.

Musona ordered that the convicts’ properties including houses, vehicles and computers be forfeited to the State following Drug Enforcement Commission prosecutor Moffat Chilonda’s application.