ZAMBIA’s former Foreign Minister Joseph Malanji has been sentenced to four years in prison with hard labour after being convicted of corruption.
Malanji was found guilty on seven counts of acquiring properties and helicopters suspected to be the proceeds of crime, the state broadcaster reports.
His co-accused, former treasury secretary Fredson Yamba, received a three-year jail term for approving the transfer of more than $8m (£6m) to Zambia’s diplomatic mission in Turkey without justifying the expense.
Several ministers in former President Edgar Lungu’s government have been convicted of various offences, but Malanji is the most high-profile of them.
President Hakainde Hichilema promised to root out corruption when he swept to power four years ago after defeating Lungu in elections.
Lungu and his party, the Patriotic Front (PF), have accused him of waging a political vendetta.
The former president died of natural causes in South Africa in June, but has not yet been buried because of a long drawn-out dispute between his family and the government over his funeral arrangements.
Malanji was close to Lungu, and served as his foreign minister from 2018 to 2021.
He earned the nickname “Bonanza” because he was known for his generosity, and for mingling with the public.
Handing down the sentence, Magistrate Ireen Wishimanga said she had shown “leniency” towards Malanji and Yamba because they were first-time offenders, and she had heard “spirited mitigation” arguments by their legal team.
Hichilema’s critics say corruption is also widespread in his government, but none of his ministers have been sacked or prosecuted.
In May, the US government pulled the plug on $50m of health sector funding to Zambia after saying there was “systematic theft” of medical donations, and it was “no longer willing to underwrite the personal enrichment of fraudsters”.
Zambia’s government promised to carry out an investigation, but there have been no prosecutions as yet.
Transparency International ranks Zambia as being among the world’s most corrupt countries.