Lusaka Subordinate Court rules in favour of the state's Conviction Based Forfeiture Application

Following the conviction of Charity Katanga, a former Deputy Inspector General of the Police, the Lusaka Subordinate Court has ruled in favour of the State’s Conviction Based Forfeiture Application, ordering Katanga to forfeit 10 Higer buses and K1,522,005.15.

Katanga received a three-year jail sentence on February 19th, 2024, for owning 10 Higer buses worth K26,282,770, determined to be proceeds of crime under Section 71(1) of the Forfeiture of Proceeds of Crime Act. The funds and busses linked to Chibeka Express Ltd. were found to be tainted by the court.

Chief Resident Magistrate Davies Chibwili ruled that the buses and the funds in the company’s Stanbic Bank account in Ndola must be forfeited to the state. This decision followed an application by Senior State Advocate Mukuma Chilila Chipawa for the forfeiture of these assets, which the court granted after determining their tainted nature.

During the trial, Magistrate Chibwili highlighted that the defence failed to provide sufficient evidence to explain the source of the funds used to purchase the buses. He affirmed that the initial tainted funds rendered all subsequent acquisitions similarly tainted.

“The buses, having been found to be tainted properties, means that whatever was realised using them was also tainted and subject to the same orders as the buses themselves,” Magistrate Chibwili stated. He ordered the forfeiture of the buses and funds in accordance with Section 10 of the Forfeiture of Proceeds of Crime Act No. 19.