EX convict and former Ministry of Health Chief Human Resource Officer Henry Kapoko has taken the Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) and the Attorney General to court, demanding the return of Best Home Lodge Limited, a property he says was unlawfully converted into a women’s correctional facility.
He is also seeking $22 million in compensation for alleged loss of business.
Kapoko who served a nine year sentence for theft by public servant and money laundering of over K6.8 million, has submitted to the Lusaka High Court that his luxurious lodge cannot harbour seemingly fellow convicts.
According to a statement of claim filed by Best Home Lodge Limited and Kapoko, the Attorney General has been cited because the Ministry of Home Affairs allegedly turned the lodge into a correctional facility for female inmates with circumstantial children “without the consent of the plaintiffs and in total disregard” of a Court of Appeal judgment.
Argument is that during Kapoko’s prosecution for various offences several years ago, the ACC seized the lodge even though it was, at the time, a well-known and active going concern, generating not less than $500,000 per month.
He alledged that Best Home Lodge Limited, invested heavily in developing and managing the facility, yet was neither under investigation nor ever charged with any crime when the property was taken over.
In their claim, reliance is heavily on the December 22, 2023 Court of Appeal ruling, which stated that Best Home Lodge,sitting on Stand Nos. 13949 and 13947 in Roma Township, was not among properties proven to be proceeds of crime.
The court found undisputed evidence that the lodge was an operational business even before the alleged offences and ordered that it be released to Kapoko.
He submitted that neither the ACC nor the National Prosecutions Authority has appealed that ruling to date.
Despite the judgment, the plaintiffs say the Ministry of Home Affairs converted the lodge into a correctional facility, an act they describe as compulsory acquisition without compensation, contrary to the Constitution and the Lands Acquisition Act.
They also allege that amenities and furnishings found in the rooms at the time of seizure have “disappeared,” with no reasonable explanation from the ACC, and put the value of the missing items and continued occupation at $500,000 per month in lost rent.
Letters demanding the return of the lodge or reparations were reportedly sent to both defendants but yielded nothing positive.
He accused the two state institutions of contumeliously disregarding their rights and acting without lawful justification.
Therefore, the demand for US$22 million in loss of business,an order compelling the ACC to restore the lodge to its former habitable state and return of all goods and amenities allegedly taken.
He also seeks a declaration that converting the lodge into a correctional facility without consent or compensation was illegal.
An order for the Ministry of Home Affairs to surrender the lodge and pay US$500,000 monthly rent from the date inmates occupied the property until it is vacated.
Kalemba, November 26, 2025
