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The High Court has upheld the conviction and two-year jail sentence of Lusaka businessman Adolphus Mubanga for possessing K4 million suspected to be proceeds of crime, dismissing most of his appeal against a 2023 ruling by the Lusaka Magistrates’ Court.
A three-judge panel comprising Justices Anne Malata-Anonuju, Susan Wanjelani, and Vincent Siloka under the Economic and Financial Crimes Court Division confirmed that Mubanga failed to provide a lawful explanation for the funds in question.
The bench partly upheld the 2023 judgment delivered by Lusaka Principal Magistrate Irene Wishimanga.
Mubanga, a former country representative of Curzon Global Limited, was jointly charged with his uncle, former Defence Minister Geoffrey Mwamba, over allegations of possessing unexplained funds.
He was found guilty on three counts involving K4,050,000, K980,000, and K525,954, but appealed the ruling, arguing that the lower court erred in convicting him despite evidence that he acted as an agent for Curzon Global Hong Kong, which had contracts with the Zambia Air Force and Zambia Army.
He raised six grounds of appeal, claiming the trial court ignored evidence of his agency role, misinterpreted payments made to Muchinga Procurement Limited, and failed to appreciate that the funds were not proceeds of crime.
In its decision, the High Court agreed in part with Mubanga’s arguments, acknowledging credible evidence of an agency relationship between Curzon Global Hong Kong and Curzon Global Zambia Limited, despite the absence of a formal written agreement.
The judges cited correspondence from Curzon Global Hong Kong’s finance director Francis Lee Zhou, who instructed Mubanga to make payments to Muchinga Procurement Limited, as proof of that relationship.
However, the court found that Mubanga failed to provide credible documentation linking the K4,050,000 in count one to Curzon Global Hong Kong. It observed that there was no evidence showing that the funds originated from the company’s account or represented legitimate agent fees.
“The appellant did not produce any credible record showing that the money came from Curzon Global Hong Kong or was withdrawn from its account.
The narration of ‘maize and soya’ further weakened his defence,” the court noted.
The panel concluded that Mubanga failed to provide a satisfactory explanation for the K4,050,000, determining that the funds were reasonably suspected to be proceeds of crime.
Consequently, the court upheld his conviction and two-year sentence on that count.
However, Mubanga was acquitted on the other two counts after the court found reasonable explanations for the K980,000 and K525,954, which it said were linked to legitimate transactions.
Mubanga, who was released on K150,000 bail last year pending appeal, has since begun serving his two-year sentence with hard labour following the High Court’s decision.
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