Jailed ex-minister, Lusambo, to receive $25,000 from Chief Nkana in settlement of Bisma mining dispute

Though currently serving time at Mwembeshi Maximum Prison for corruption, former Lusaka Province Minister, Bowman Lusambo, is set to receive US$25,000 from Chief Nkana following a settlement in their long-running dispute over the sale of Bisma Mining Limited.

The agreement follows a consent judgment signed on October 3, 2025, by Lusaka High Court Judge Ireen Mbewe, effectively ending the civil case in which Lusambo had demanded US$105,000 as his alleged share from the mining company’s sale.

Under the consent order, Godfrey Shamanena, known as Chief Nkana of the Lamba people on the Copperbelt, agreed to pay Lusambo US$25,000 as a full and final settlement. Both parties also waived any future claims against each other and agreed to bear their own legal costs.

As part of the resolution, the Mareva injunction granted to Lusambo on July 16, 2025, which had frozen Chief Nkana’s bank account at ZANACO, has now been lifted.

Lusambo, through his lawyers, had claimed that he played a pivotal role in facilitating negotiations and supporting legal and commercial processes that led to the sale of Bisma Mining to Grizzly Mining Limited.

He further alleged that Grizzly Mining released US$165,000 at Chief Nkana’s request, purportedly to be shared as US$105,000 for himself and US$30,000 each for Chief Nkana and Chieftainess Malembeka.

However, in his defence, Chief Nkana denied owing Lusambo any money, maintaining that the former minister neither invested in nor participated in the sale of Bisma Mining.

He described the alleged payment arrangement as merely a gesture of goodwill, not a binding contractual obligation, and clarified that the transaction concerned Bisma Mining and Pridegems Mines Limited, in which he was only a shareholder.

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