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Three public officers, including a senior police officer and two pharmacy technologists, have been sentenced to two years imprisonment for their role in the theft and diversion of government-supplied medicines worth over K200,000, which were meant for Nangoma Mission Hospital in Mumbwa.
The Lusaka Magistrate Court, presided over by Magistrate Crispin Hampungani, convicted Assistant Commissioner of Police Kenneth Chikwanda, 59, Vincent Chibale, 41, and Ackiel Phiri of multiple offences including theft by public servant, forgery, and uttering false documents.
Read more: Pharmacist on trial over alleged theft of government medicines
The offences stemmed from a complex scheme that began in 2020 and resulted in the drugs being diverted from the official supply chain, with some later traced to private health facilities.
The court heard that Chibale and Phiri, both pharmacy technologists based at Sikanze Police Hospital and Nangoma Mission Hospital respectively, collected the medicines from the Zambia Medicines and Medical Supplies Agency (ZAMMSA) using a Zambia Police vehicle.
However, instead of delivering the drugs to Nangoma, they were diverted and later discovered in private drug stores and at a private residence.
In his judgment, Magistrate Hampungani found that the two technologists had forged a delivery note purporting to be from Medical Stores Limited, which bore neither a signature nor an official stamp.
The false document was used to conceal the illegal transfer of the medicines.
The court further established that a fake introductory letter to Medical Stores—allegedly from a senior hospital administrator—had been forged by Phiri.
Chikwanda, the senior police officer, was found to have played a central role in the operation by authorizing the use of a police vehicle for the collection and delivery of the medicines.
He was also found to have monitored their movement and ensured they were delivered to illicit destinations, including a private clinic with which he was connected.
However, another officer, Chief Inspector Portipher Phiri, was acquitted after the court ruled that he acted on instructions and had no knowledge of the fraudulent scheme.
Magistrate Hampungani further ordered that the full value of the stolen drugs—K216,255.17—be recovered from the convicted trio through the Attorney General, in accordance with the Criminal Procedure Code.
The amount is to be recovered from any salaries or benefits due to the convicts from the government.
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