News

THREE POLICE OFFICERS CONVICTED IN ARMED AGGRAVATED ROBBERY CASE – KITWE

Kitwe | November 19, 2025 -The Kitwe High Court has convicted and sentenced three police officers for one count of the offence of Aggravated Robbery contrary to section 294(2) of the Penal Code Chapter 87 of the Laws of Zambia. The case cited as The People vs.Richard Mpengaula and Four Others, was heard before Lady Justice Abbah Patel at the Kitwe High Court. According to the evidence before court, Richard Mpengaula, Teddy Nyirenda, Kennedy Mwansa, Luka Mtonga and Peter Kamabayenda were jointly charged with one count of the offence of Aggravated Robbery. Particulars of the offence were that on January 3, 2020, at Kitwe in the Kitwe District of the Copperbelt Province of the Republic of Zambia, the accused persons whilst acting together and whilst armed with a firearm, did steal a copper blister, a chain block and 4 steel

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FROM LUSAKA TO CAPE TOWN – THENPA EXPORTS ZAMBIA’SWINNING FORMULA IN THE WAR ON GBV

Cape Town, South Africa | November 2025 – The National Prosecution Authority (NPA) is currently participating in a Gender-Based Violence (GBV) Regional Conference in Cape Town, South Africa. The meeting, themed, “Regional Reflection and Knowledge Exchange,” is supported by the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC). The conference aims to highlight key achievements in GBV justice and create a platform for Southern African nations to share successful methodologies, lessons learned, and innovative practices for replication across the region. Representing the NPA and Zambia at the conference are two key specialists from the Authority’s Gender Based Crimes and Child Protection Department – Mrs. Chali Mbewe-Hambayi, Deputy Chief State Advocate, and Mrs. Monde Chizongo,Senior State Advocate, who have taken a leading role in the knowledge exchange.During the conference, the Zambian delegation delivered three key presentations: The conference has brought together

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BEYOND HANDSHAKES – ZAMBIA AND INDIA TO BUILD CRIME-FIGHTING FRAMEWORK WITH NEW TREATY

Lusaka | November 18, 2025*– The Director of Public Prosecutions, Mr. Gilbert A. Phiri SC, personally led a high-level National Prosecution Authority (NPA) delegation in strategic talks with the Indian High Commission on Friday, November 14, 2025. The delegation comprised the Authority’s Chief Administrator, Ms. Cassandra Soko; the Acting Chief State Advocate, Mrs. Chali Mbewe-Hambayi, who also serves as head of the Gender Based Crimes and Child Protection Department; the Deputy Chief State Advocate who heads the Asset Forfeiture Department, Ms. Margaret Kapambwe-Chitundu; and State Advocate in the Taxation and Financial Crimes Department, Mr. Sylvester Banda. The meeting focused on translating the long-standing Zambia-India relationship into a strong operational legal alliance. Central to the discussions was the finalisation of a comprehensive Mutual Legal Assistance (MLA) treaty. This critical agreement will establish formal channels for evidence exchange, asset recovery, and joint

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COURT TOLD HOW DEC CLOSED IN ON KHADIJA AGATHA MINGEL IN HIGH-STAKES DRUG BUST

Lusaka | 14 November 2025 – The intricate investigative trail that led the Drug Enforcement Commission (DEC) to alleged drug-trafficking queenpin Khadija Agatha Mingel is now a matter of court record. In detailed testimony delivered yesterday, a DEC officer outlined a coordinated surveillance and sting operation that culminated in the arrest of the 36-year-old Kitwe businesswoman and the seizure of suspected cocaine.Testifying before Principal Resident Magistrate Honourable Mungala at the Lusaka Magistrate’s Court, Assistant Security Officer Mr. Muzumbwe who was called as Prosecution Witness number three (PW3), recounted how the operation began with a confidential informant’s tip-off indicating that a drug transaction would take place at Sabina Puma Filling Station in Kitwe. The informant provided specific details, including that the unknown suspect would arrive in a black Toyota Mark X, registration AFB 3930.Acting on this intelligence, a joint DEC team

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FROM TRUSTEE TO SERIAL KILLER -JOSEPH CHITETA’S LIFESENTENCE FOR SEVEN BRUTAL MURDERS

Kabwe | November 14, 2025 – Joseph Chiteta, a 53-year-old former paramilitary officer, stood mere months from completing his 20-year sentence for aggravated robbery when prison authorities granted him “trustee” status. On November 11, 2025, that trust ended in life imprisonment as the Kabwe High Court sentenced him for the murders of Priscilla Kafumbo, Elizabeth Kazadi, Naomi Namulukwa, Virginia Chanda, Doreen Nyambe, Janice Jani, and Mwanangombe Situmbeko – seven women he killed while enjoying unsupervised prison privileges. The convict admitted to systematically exploiting his position to access prison visitor records, using this information to identify and lure vulnerable women with false promises of assisting their incarcerated relatives. He later led investigators to their remains at Egypt Venture Farm, where he worked as a trustee inmate. “The evidence presented left no doubt about the systematic nature of these crimes,” stated State

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NPA BUDGETS AND PLANS – FUELING 2026 STRATEGIC GOALS

Lusaka | November 12, 2025 – The National Prosecution Authority’s senior management and administration team gathered today in the NPA Conference room to finalise planning and budgeting for the 2026 financial year. The sessions, chaired by the learned Director of Public Prosecutions, Mr. Gilbert A. Phiri SC, focused on aligning financial resources with the NA’s strategic objectives, ensuring the institution is fully equipped to effectively execute its mandate. Following the strategic sessions, the team assembled on the stairway of the NPA headquarters for a photo opportunity, a visual representation of the institution’s unified and ascending path into the 2026 fiscal year.

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A JUSTICE SYSTEM THAT WORKS – NPA KICKS OFF UNIFIED FRONT AGAINST GENDER-BASED VIOLENCE IN CHAMA AND CHIPATA

CHIPATA, CHAMA | November 11, 2025 – In a powerful move to confront the shadow pandemic of Gender-Based Violence (GBV) head-on, the National Prosecution Authority (NPA) is building new frontlines, not just in courtrooms, but in the very communities where survivors seek safety and justice. A crucial one-day training session set the tone, bringing together law enforcement, healthcare professionals, social service providers, and traditional leaders. The mission is simply to build a seamless chain of justice for survivors in Chama District, where GBV cases have reached an alarming pitch. This engagement, replicated simultaneously in Chipata through the NPA’s collaboration with the Sexual Reproductive and Health Rights Trust (SAT Zambia), gathered a cross section of GBV response actors across both districts. In Chipata, State Advocate Mrs Cynthia Simwatachela-Mwila captured the critical nature of the mission. “A survivor’s journey is fragile. If

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HIGH COURT UPHOLDS GBM’S RELATIVE’S CONVICTION FOR POSSESSION OF UNEXPLAINED K4 MILLION

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

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NPA STRENGTHENS COLLABORATION WITH CENHTRO TO COMBAT LABOUR TRAFFICKING IN ZAMBIA

Lusaka | November 9 2025 – The National Prosecution Authority (NPA) on Tuesday, November 4 2025, hosted a high-level engagement with researchers from the Centre on Human Trafficking Research and Outreach (CenHTRO) aimed at strengthening collaboration under the Southern Africa Development Community (SADC) Labour Trafficking Project. In attendance were at the meeting was the learned Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) Mr. Gilbert A. Phiri SC, Mrs. Gracillia Chipulu-Mulenga, Deputy Chief State Advocate (DCSA) and head of the Taxation and Financial Crimes Department, State Advocate Mrs. Chisomo Mtolo-Sikanyika, and three CenHTRO researchers. The meeting provided a platform to exchange insights and reinforce cooperation in the fight against labour trafficking in Zambia. During the engagement, the CenHTRO representatives voiced a strong optimism for a collaborative partnership with the National Prosecution Authority in the fight against labour trafficking. In response, the Director of

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JUSTICE CATCHES UP AGAIN FOR INCARCERATED EX-MINISTER LUSAMBO

Kabwe | October 31 2025 – The Kabwe Subordinate Court concluded a case against five individuals, one of whom is former-Lusaka Province Minister Mr. Bowman Chilosha Lusambo testing the boundaries between political stature and legal accountability. The five were charged with the offence of Unlawful Assembly, contrary to Section 74(1) as read with Section 75 of the Penal Act, Chapter 87 of the Laws of Zambia. The court delivered its judgment on October 29 2025, convicting Bowman Lusambo, Billy Sichamba, Saidi Chibwana, and Martin Simfukwe. Mathews Changwe was acquitted.The case, prosecuted by Senior Public Prosecutor Ms. Elizabeth Sikute of the National Prosecution Authority Kabwe Office, stemmed from an incident on November 2 2023 at Brimas in Kabwe Town Centre. The prosecution presented evidence from seven witnesses, establishing that the convicted individuals jointly assembled and conducted themselves in a manner that

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