Lusaka | 9 November 2025 – On Wednesday, November 5, 2025, businessman Adolphus Mubanga, a relative of former Defence Minister Geoffrey Bwalya Mwamba commonly known as “GBM”, begun serving his two‑year custodial sentence with hard labour, following a High Court decision that upheld his conviction for possession of K4,050,000, funds the court found reasonably suspected to be proceeds of crime.

In a November 2023 judgment delivered by the Economic and Financial Crimes Division of the Subordinate Court, presided over by Chief Resident Magistrate Ireen Wishimanga, Mr. Mubanga was found guilty on three separate counts. The counts involved the possession of K4,050,000, K980,000 and K525,954, funds that were held to be reasonably suspected to be proceeds of crime, contrary to Section 71(1) of the Forfeiture of Proceeds of Crime Act No. 19 of 2010. He was sentenced to a two year custodial sentence with hard labour. Dissatisfied with that judgment, Mr. Mubanga appealed both his conviction and sentence before the Economic & Financial Crimes Division of the High Court, where a panel of Judges comprising Justice Susan Wanjelani, Justice Anne Malata‑Anonuju and Justice Vincent Siloka, upheld the conviction in respect of the first count but quashed the other two lesser convictions.

Mubanga had served as the Zambian representative of Curzon Global Limited of Hong Kong. A company that GBM during his time as Defence Minister had irregularly facilitated the award of a supply tender for shelter tents, military uniforms and specialised equipment worth more than USD 4, 602, 792.58.

In his appeal, Mubanga advanced six grounds challenging the subordinate court’s judgment. He contended, among other points, that he had acted as an agent for Curzon Global Hong Kong and that the trial court’s conviction was based on a flawed foundation, namely a mistaken view of his responsibilities and an incorrect characterisation of the payments to Muchinga Procurement Limited. Additionally he challenged the court’s failure account for the evidence showing that these were legitimate business transactions.

In its judgment the High Court accepted that correspondence from Curzon Global Limited Hong Kong’s finance director, Francis Lee Zhou, directed Mubanga to channel payments through Muchinga Procurement Limited thereby establishing an agency connection.

However, the Court found Mubanga did not present credible documentation to link the K4,050,000 to Curzon Global Hong Kong’s accounts or show it was bona fide agent fees. The Court took particular note of a deposit bearing the narration “maize, soya and beans”, describing it as lacking plausible commercial explanation.

The acquittal on the two lesser counts involving Mr. Mubanga’s possession of K980,000 and K525,954 where he provided acceptable evidence, highlights the High Court’s approach of differentiating between unexplained wealth and legitimate business records. But the confirmation of the K4,050,000 conviction establishes a crucial benchmark. It confirms that possession of property reasonably suspected to be proceeds of crime (contrary to Section 71(1) of the Act) will attract rigorous scrutiny.

The case was prosecuted by the Taxation and Financial Crimes Department, whose detailed analysis enabled the case to withstand high‑court scrutiny. The NPA views the outcome as an endorsement of its capacity to pursue intricate financial crime and procurement fraud.

With the sentence now in force and custody commenced, the NPA stresses that accountability is neither delayed nor selective. The swift transition from judgment to service of sentence sends an unmistakable message that institutions will act, and that personal connections regardless of their nature or prominence, do not insulate individuals from justice.

This judgment marks a critical moment in Zambia’s crackdown on financial crimes, leaving no doubt that unexplained wealth will be rigorously confronted under the rule of law.