DPP to appeal some Court of Appeal judgments
By Paul Shalala
The Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions –DPP- has announced that it will appeal to the Supreme Court against recent decisions by the Court of Appeal.
The DPP says the rulings have allowed appeals in two high-profile cases involving drug trafficking and illegal foreign exchange trading, sparking considerable public interest and legal debate.
National Prosecution Authority –NPA- Public Relations Officer, CHALI HAMBAYI says the first case, which drew widespread attention, involves a bus conductor accused of drug trafficking.
Mrs. HAMBAYI says the case exposed substantial illicit activities and law enforcement officials caught the accused red-handed with a significant quantity of drugs.
She says the suspect was convicted on two of the preferred charges and sentenced to five years imprisonment but the Court of Appeal overturned the forfeiture, allowing him to retain the contested assets.
In the second case, Mrs. HAMBAYI says a group of foreign nationals were apprehended at the Kai Kai shopping Centre near the Zambia-Congo Kasumbalesa border while engaged in unauthorised foreign exchange trading.
She says the Court of Appeal ruled in favour of the Appellants enabling them to keep the funds despite their unlicensed activities.
In a statement to ZNBC News, Mrs. HAMBAYI said legal experts in the DPP’s office are scrutinising these developments adding that the court decisions will carry far-reaching implications for the landscape of asset recovery in Zambia.
