Celebrated Journalist Chanda Chimba III Has Died

Veteran Journalist Chanda Chimba III has died after a long battle with prostate cancer.

He died on Friday morning at Fairview Hospital in Lusaka where he was admitted.

In the run up to the 2011 general election, Mr Chimba produced controversial documentaries dubbed Stand up for Zambia which were highly critical of then opposition leader late President Michael Sata and organizations seen to have been pro PF. He was later arrested, charged and sentenced to two years in prison for producing the controversial Stand up for Zambia series on ZNBC.

Mr. Chimba was also fined 500 Kwacha each in default 6 months for count 3 and 4 in which he had been convicted for not registering his business and failure to register his publication at the National Archives. He was also convicted for disposing off property reasonably suspected to have been obtained from unlawful sources.

In his mitigation, Mr. Chimba asked the court to exercise maximum leniency as he was a 1st time offender and was remorseful for his involvement in the saga.

At the time, he asked the court to take into consideration that he had a very serious illness which was stage 4 prostate cancer that was in its highest level entailing that he has to go to the Cancer Diseases Hospital for medication.

Mr. Chimba through his lawyer further asked the court to take into account that he was a family man, married with 5 children, two are in university while the other three were in primary school. He also told the court that he was also a breadwinner taking care of his ailing mother.

However, Ndola Principal Resident Magistrate Obbyster Musukwa said he took note of his mitigation for the court to consider his illness but that Mr. Chimba failed to present his medical report before the court.

In April last year, Republican President Edgar Lungu announced that he would consider exercising his prerogative of mercy and pardon Chanda Chimba, in accordance with section 1118 which deals with the release of terminally ill patients.

Upon release, Mr Chimba thanked President Edgar Lungu for pardoning him and said that he spent most of his time at the cancer diseases Hospital.

Mr Chimba further urged Zambians to avoid crime as the conditions in Prison were not good. Mr. Chimba also wished President Lungu well as he governed the country.