The State wants more time added to two of the most prominent sentences of the Hichilema years, according to a Kalemba report carried by the Zambian Observer on Sunday 1 November. The report says the National Prosecution Authority has filed a cross-appeal in the Court of Appeal against the sentences imposed on Joseph Malanji, the former foreign affairs minister, and Fredson Yamba, the former Secretary to the Treasury, after both men appealed their convictions. It follows an earlier appeal by the Director of Public Prosecutions, Gilbert Phiri, against the sentences and against Malanji's acquittal on one count. No other outlet has yet reported the filing, and this account rests on Kalemba's.
The underlying judgment is a matter of record. The NPA's own website records that in early September 2025 the Economic and Financial Crimes Court, with Chief Resident Magistrate Irene Wishimanga presiding, convicted Yamba on two counts of wilfully failing to follow the procedures for public funds, over transfers of K108,401,197 and K45,800,000 to the Zambian mission account in Turkey, and convicted Malanji on seven counts of possessing property reasonably suspected to be proceeds of crime: a Bell 430 and a Bell 206 helicopter, US$110,000 and US$105,000 in cash, and three houses in Silverest Gardens in Lusaka. He was acquitted on count five, which concerned the Gibson Royal Hotel, the court holding that the hotel predated the financial activity in question; the NPA said at the time that it intended to appeal that acquittal. Malanji was sentenced to four years with hard labour and Yamba to three, to run concurrently. In February 2026 the Lusaka Magistrates' Court refused Malanji bail pending appeal.
The two grounds
Kalemba's account of the cross-appeal gives two grounds. On sentence, the NPA argues that four and three years were manifestly inadequate, wrong in principle and failed to deter or to reflect the gravity of the offences, and that the trial court ought to have imposed the statutory maximum. On the hotel, it argues that the court erred in law. Its case, as reported, is that Malanji's company, Gibson Power Systems, had used the hotel as security for three credit facilities with FNB between 2013 and 2015; that after Malanji travelled to Morocco in October 2020 a deposit of K10,203,000 reached the company's Stanbic account; and that K10 million of it was then used to clear the FNB facilities and the mortgage. Under section 71(1) of the Forfeiture of Proceeds of Crime Act, the NPA says, the State need only show suspicion based on articulable facts, not prove the underlying offence, and it relies on the Supreme Court's decision in The People v Austin Liato. Using suspected proceeds to service a mortgage, it argues, tainted the property even if it was lawfully acquired at first.
the Trial Court ought to have imposed the statutory maximum
— National Prosecution Authority, in its cross-appeal submissions, as quoted by Kalemba in a report carried by the Zambian Observer on 1 November
What the defence will say in reply has not been reported. At trial Malanji said his wealth came from Gibson Power Systems and asked for a non-custodial sentence as a first offender, and Yamba's lawyer argued that he had been trying to secure cheaper property for the government and had served ten years as Secretary to the Treasury. No hearing date for the appeals has been published.
Confirmed vs. alleged
Confirmed: The convictions of September 2025, the sentences, the acquittal on the hotel count and the NPA's stated intention to appeal it are on the National Prosecution Authority's website; the refusal of bail pending appeal in February 2026 is also recorded there.
Alleged or unverified: The filing of the cross-appeal, its grounds and the figures in them are reported by Kalemba alone, via the Zambian Observer; the filing date and any hearing date are not given; the defence has not responded publicly.
Sources: Zambian Observer, “National Prosecution Authority wants Malanji, Yamba's jail terms increased (Kalemba)” (1 Nov 2026); National Prosecution Authority, “Tainted assets unraveled – Malanji & Yamba held accountable in corruption verdict” (5 Sep 2025); National Prosecution Authority, “Zambia strikes hard – Malanji and Yamba sentenced to prison in the helicopter case” (4 Sep 2025); National Prosecution Authority, “Court denies Malanji bail pending appeal, orders continued custody” (6 Feb 2026).