High Court Reduces Corruption Sentence For Henry Kapoko

The Lusaka High Court has reduced the prison sentence of former Ministry of Health official Henry Kapoko to nine years - down from an initial 18 years with hard labour.

The former chief human resources development officer was originally sentenced in 2018 for for embezzling public funds and laundering money totalling K6.8 million. However, the high court overturned a ruling by Principal Magistrate Exnobert Zulu for Kapoko to serve his sentences consecutively rather than concurrently. 

Mr Kapoko was sentenced alongside ministerial accountants Zukas Kaoma and Evaristo Musaba. High Court Judge Matthew Chisunka upheld the magistrate’s decision ordering the trio the repay the K6.8 million to the state.

The initial consecutive sentence of 18 years was received with shock by Judge Chisunka, who insisted that proper protocol was for sentences to run concurrently. 

“We quash the mode for sentencing to run consecutively instead of concurrent. The sentencing came to us with a sense of shock because the correct principle is that they should run concurrently,” he said.

Judge Chisunka added that the charges were very serious, with the theft leading to donors pulling out and vulnerable people losing access to proper medical care. 

As well as the embezzled money the trio have been sentenced for 49 counts of money laundering, including 24 vehicles, two lodges, three houses, a filling station and several bank accounts.

Two other civil servants who were also implicated in the crimes have been acquitted, after the court found them not guilty of deliberate embezzlement. 

Internal auditor Justine Phiri and accountant Vincent Luhana were deemed to be merely acting on instructions from their superiors and their actions, despite being negligent, were not tantamount to theft by a public servant or money laundering.