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Former Foreign Affairs Minister, Joseph Malanji, has challenged the four-year jail term imposed on him, arguing that the trial court’s decision was tainted by serious legal and factual errors.
Malanji, who was sentenced to four years with hard labour, was jointly convicted with former Secretary to the Treasury, Fredson Yamba, for willful failure to follow procedure in authorising K108 million and K48 million to the Zambian embassy in Turkey.
While Yamba received a three-year sentence, Malanji also faced separate charges of possessing property suspected to be proceeds of crime, including two helicopters.
He has since sought leave of the court to appeal to the High Court against the conviction. In his 13 grounds of appeal, Malanji contends that the trial magistrate exceeded her jurisdiction and wrongly imposed personal liability on him for transactions conducted by companies in which he was a shareholder or director.
He argued that this breached the legal principle that a company is a distinct entity from its members and officers.
Malanji further claims the magistrate misapplied the precedent in Bank of Zambia v Chibote, which he says affirmed the doctrine of separate legal personality.
By conflating corporate actions with his personal role, he argues, the court reached conclusions unsupported by law or evidence.
According to him, the trial court erred in interpreting normal business practices—such as inter-company transactions—as indicators of criminality.
He cited the example of Gibson Power Systems paying for a helicopter on behalf of Gibson Air Charter, noting that such arrangements were standard corporate operations and not proof of wrongdoing.
Malanji also disputes findings that he misappropriated more than USD 1.1 million meant for the procurement of a chancery in Turkey, describing the conclusion as baseless and inconsistent with the evidence.
He said the magistrate unfairly dismissed testimony in his favour and shifted the burden of proof onto him for corporate dealings outside the charges he faced.
Meanwhile, he is opposing the State’s request to have the helicopters and three houses forfeited, insisting their purchase was legitimate and supported by documentary evidence.
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