BEFORE being slapped with a three-year jail term over the illegal acquisition of his Chamba Valley mansion, former Lusaka Province minister, Bowman Lusambo yesterday pleaded with the Economic and Financial Crimes Court to exercise leniency in meting out punishment saying he is a family man, carrying the weight of an absent father, with twins named after a former first family Edgar and Esther who question if he will return home.
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Last week Lusambo was convicted for failing to account for his upmarket house and six flats valued at K22.8 million, way above his legitimate wealth which was K8.5 million.
This is in a case where he stood charged for possessing property suspected to be proceeds of crime.
Apart from his confession of stealing for the future during a radio programme on one of Zambia’s famous radio stations, Lusambo could not prove the source of his income.
In his findings Lusaka Chief Resident magistrate Davies Chibwili said Lusambo’s defence, of his political career and how he rose to the rank of a provincial minister was irrelevant to the case as he was given enough time to craft a story that would save him from trouble.
He said Lusambo could not produce a paper trail of the alleged millions he was paid as he rose in political ranks from a mere “chola boy” to a minister.
“Lusambo did not produce any documents, to me that in it self is a red flag. How can you explain millions of Kwacha being exchanged without a receipt,” magistrate Chibwili wondered.
He said Lusambo’s evidence was below par in the absence of evidence to support his claims.
“I find that the Prosecution have proved their case and I find the accused guilty of the two counts and convict him accordingly,” Magistrate Chibwili said.
The State requested that the matter be adjourned so that they could pull out Lusambo’s conviction record before magistrate Faidess Hamaundu, where he was jailed for four years, for possessing houses in Silverest Gardens and land on the Copperbelt, which were believed to be proceeds of crime.
Upon the production of documents yesterday, magistrate Chibwili proved that Lusambo was a second offender of corruption currently serving his four-year sentence which was slapped on him on November 8, 2024.
It looks as if Lusambo was competing to beat the Ministry of Agriculture’s record of a bumper harvest, except instead of crops, he was harvesting jail time.
Prior to harvesting the recent three-years jail sentence he is currently serving a six-year jail term.
In his mitigation, Lusambo tried to swap his Bulldozer persona for that of a humble family man as he grovelled at the court for mercy.
Through his lawyer Charles Changano, Lusambo pleaded that he is a family man and father to six children, two of whom carry the names of late President Edgar Lungu and former first lady Esther Lungu, names chosen with hope, pride, and belief in the legacy of his fallen boss.
Changano said if convicted, the family might turn to destitution, asking the court to take into account that they might be rendered homeless as Lusambo will lose the right to the mansion following his jailing.
He said the twins always question his wife Nancy Manase on when he will return home, a question that pricks more than the burden he carries on his shoulders behind the prison walls of serving the nine-year jail sentence he has collected for his criminal activities; in his children’s eyes home was not just a place of bricks and mortar but his presence.
“In your conviction, be mindful of his family that at one stage are homeless. He has a wife and children named after the [late President Lungu] and former first lady,”Changana pleaded.
“[Zambia] being a Christian nation, the court has the discretion to forgive. Forgive your convict before you.”
But Magistrate Chibwili was unmoved noting that Lusambo’s flamboyant lifestyle did not match his lawful earnings as his so-called businesses lacked proper records, tax compliance, or credibility.
The court concluded that such bogus ventures could not explain how he acquired the properties valued at K22.8 million far beyond the clean money of K8.5 million Lusambo had earned during the period under review.
Magistrate Chibwili then sentenced the ex-Kabushi lawmaker to three years imprisonment with hard labour in both counts.
“Cases such as these are on the rise, and Government workers must take care of resources,” he warned.
This sentence comes barely nine months after the Economic and Financial Crime’s Court convicted and sentenced him to four years with hard labour for 10 corruption related charges making it the third Bulldozer’s conviction.
Lusambo was also jailed two years by the Luanshya magistrate’s court for violence during the Roan Constituency parliamentary by-election, which left NDC support Stanely Musukwa defaced and led to the death of another NDC supporter Obed Kasongo.
By George Musonda
Kalemba September 2, 2025
