Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) Gilbert Phiri has filed a notice to appeal against the conviction and sentencing of former Foreign Affairs Minister Joseph Malanji and former Secretary to the Treasury Fredson Yamba.
In the same notice, Mr. Phiri has also indicated his intention to appeal against Malanji’s acquittal over the acquisition of Royal Gibson Hotel, which the state suspected to be proceeds of crime.
The DPP has raised three grounds of appeal, including that the trial court erred in law when it sentenced Malanji and Yamba to three and four years imprisonment with hard labour respectively, despite the aggravating factors in the case.
Yamba was jailed for failing to follow procedure in the movement of over US$108 million for the purchase of a chancery at the Zambian Mission in Turkey.
Malanji was found guilty of buying two helicopters from aviation companies in South Africa using funds allegedly diverted from the chancery purchase in Turkey.
Court records also show that Mr. Malanji and others inflated the procurement of the Turkish properties by more than US$10 million.
By Darius Choonya
