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<\/figure>\n\n\n\nThe facts are brief and damning.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
On February 11, 2020, Ms. Tambirai Mhende, 33, went to Handsworth to follow up on her partner, Hillary Sibanda, who had been in custody since the previous day. In his office, in the presence of another man, Malamba told her plainly: K8,000.00 for police bond.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
She stepped out, called her best friend Ms. Mudenke Shamatanga, borrowed the money, drove to East Park Mall, withdrew it in K2,000 bundles, and returned to the Police Post. Malamba’s method was deliberate. He did not receive the envelope himself. He signaled Ms. Mhende to hand it to a different man. That gentleman handed it to Malamba, who tucked it beneath his desk calendar. Come back later for documentation, he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
She did. Later that same day, around 18:00 hours, on his call.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
A female officer entered briefly, was asked if she was on night duty, answered no, and left. The door was then locked.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
What followed, the Court found, was predation. Malamba grabbed Ms. Mhende from behind, told her he wanted to feast on her, licked her neck and face, forced his hands beneath her dress, touched her private parts and attempted to pull down her underwear, tearing it on the left side. He let go only when she told him she was menstruating. She fled to her vehicle and immediately called her friend, distraught.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The following morning, February 12, she returned with her sister Natasha Mhende with an introductory letter. Sibanda was released on bond – a service that, by law, is entirely free. Upon learning of the payment, Sibanda refunded her by bank transfer. She refunded Ms. Shamatanga the same day. On February 13, 2020, the matter was reported at Police Headquarters. FNB bank statements confirmed the K8,000.00 trail.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The Court’s reasoning was meticulous.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
It held that as a serving Zambia Police Service officer, Malamba is a public officer, and his solicitation and receipt of money through another person as an inducement to release a detainee proved corruption.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
On the second count, it found corroboration in early complaint, distress, and opportunity – Malamba himself admitted he was alone with Ms. Mhende after the female officer left.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The Court convicted Malamba of indecent assault, an intentional and non-consensual touching of a sexual character, or any act done with sexual intent that violates the dignity and bodily autonomy of another, short of penetration. Licking, groping private parts, forcibly attempting to disrobe a person, fall within its scope.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Relying on Charles Habeenzu v The People and Section 181(2) of the Criminal Procedure Code, which permits conviction for a lesser offence where the evidence so warrants, the Court entered a conviction for indecent assault as a minor offence to attempted rape.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Malamba stands convicted on both counts.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The National Prosecution Authority commends the courage of Ms. Mhende and her witnesses, and the exemplary industry of Senior Public Prosecutor Alex Yanganani.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The judgment restates a simple principle: the uniform is a trust, not a licence, and no office is so low as to be beneath accountability, nor so high as to be beyond it.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Lusaka | September 16, 2026 – A police post is meant to be a place of last resort. For one woman who walked into Handsworth Police Post seeking the release of her partner, it became a place where justice was put up for sale. Chief Resident Magistrate N.M. Sakala-Chabala has convicted Lewis Malamba, the then […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_eb_attr":"","footnotes":"","_members_access_role":[],"_members_access_error":""},"categories":[8],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-6241","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.npa.gov.zm\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6241","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.npa.gov.zm\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.npa.gov.zm\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.npa.gov.zm\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/5"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.npa.gov.zm\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=6241"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/www.npa.gov.zm\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6241\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":6243,"href":"https:\/\/www.npa.gov.zm\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6241\/revisions\/6243"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.npa.gov.zm\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=6241"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.npa.gov.zm\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=6241"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.npa.gov.zm\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=6241"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}