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Former cabinet minister and businessman, Joseph Malanji, will remain in custody after the High Court of Zambia dismissed his application for bail pending appeal, ruling that it lacked merit.
In a decision delivered by Judges Susan Wanjelani, Anna Malata-Ononuju and Ian Mabbolobbolo, sitting in the Economic and Financial Crimes Court, the court rejected Malanji’s renewed summons for admission to bail pending appeal.
Malanji had applied for bail under Section 332(1) of the Criminal Procedure Code, supported by an affidavit, list of authorities and skeleton arguments. The State opposed the application with its own submissions.
Read more: State opposes Malanji’s bid for bail, says appeal has no chance of success
The court heard that Malanji was convicted by a subordinate court on September 3, 2025 on seven counts of possession of property reasonably suspected to be proceeds of crime, contrary to Section 71(1) of the Forfeiture of Proceeds of Crime Act.
He was subsequently sentenced to four years’ imprisonment.
In determining the matter, the judges reviewed the 14 grounds of appeal raised by Malanji alongside the judgment under challenge and found little prospect of success.
“We have examined all the grounds of appeal and formed the view that the likelihood of the appeal succeeding is slim,” the court ruled.
The judges also relied on precedent, including the case of Anuj Kumar Rathi Krishnan v The People, which establishes that the primary consideration in bail pending appeal applications is the likelihood of success rather than a detailed examination of each ground.
Malanji had argued that he risked serving a substantial portion of his sentence before the appeal is determined and that he was capable of providing traceable sureties. However, the court found these arguments insufficient to justify his release.
It held that the possibility of serving part of a sentence is not, on its own, a basis for granting bail, and that the ability to provide sureties does not amount to exceptional circumstances.
“We find that the applicant has not advanced any exceptional circumstances to justify the grant of bail pending appeal,” the judges stated, before dismissing the application.
Following his conviction, two Bell helicopters and three houses in Salama Park linked to Malanji were forfeited to the State in a matter involving more than K108 million intended for the purchase of a chancery in Turkey, but which was instead diverted.
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