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The State has opposed an application by former Lusaka Province Minister under the Patriotic Front (PF) administration, Bowman Lusambo, seeking bail pending appeal against his three-year jail sentence for possession of properties suspected to be proceeds of crime.
Lusambo was in September this year sentenced to three years imprisonment in connection with his luxurious house in Chamba Valley and an incomplete block of flats.
He is already serving another sentence imposed in November 2024 after being convicted of corruption by a different court.
During the hearing before Chief Resident Magistrate Davies Chibwili, defence lawyer, Charles Changano, urged the court to grant his client bail, arguing that the appeal had reasonable prospects of success.
Changano told the court that justice demanded consistency, citing previous cases, including Esther Lungu vs DPP (2024), in which the Court of Appeal expunged key evidence relied upon by the State.
He further pleaded for leniency, saying Lusambo had served the country as a public servant and should be treated favourably.
“My prayer is that he be released on bail pending appeal under conditions that are fair and not harsh,” Changano said.
However, State prosecutor Tendai Shumba urged the court to reject the application, citing the 2010 precedent in Titus Zulu and Another vs The People, where the court held that bail pending appeal should be granted with great caution.
“Unlike bail pending trial, bail pending appeal is granted with reserve because the applicant is already a convict and the conviction stands unless overturned by a higher court,” Shumba argued.
She added that Lusambo’s grounds of appeal did not raise significant legal questions regarding the correctness of his conviction, and therefore, there were no exceptional circumstances warranting his release.
Prosecutor Chawezi Nalwenga also told the court that Section 123 of the Criminal Procedure Code, which governs bail applications, did not apply in this case since Lusambo had already been convicted.
“Bail pending appeal ought to be granted only in exceptional circumstances, such as when the convict has served a substantial part of the sentence or where the appeal has high prospects of success,” Nalwenga said.
In response, defence lawyer Maluza Chongola maintained that the court should exercise its discretion judiciously, emphasizing that Lusambo had already spent over a year in custody.
“Justice must not only be done but must be seen to be done,” Chongola stated.
The court has reserved its ruling to November 10, 2025.
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