Two former Namwala council officials jailed for corruption

The Namwala Subordinate Court has convicted and sentenced two former officials of Namwala Town Council to 18 months imprisonment with hard labour for corrupt practices involving a contract for the rehabilitation of 28 boreholes. The two are Arthur Thole (37), of Nakonde District, who served as Director of Works at Namwala Town Council, and Kennedy Chifokolo (43), of Sinda District, who served as Coordinator for Water and Sanitation at the council. The Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) Acting Head of Corporate Communications, Chilufya Chisanga confirmed the development in a statement issued in Lusaka on Friday.

Chisanga said the two officials were arrested by the ACC in Choma District in 2023 and jointly charged with one count of making a document without authority, two counts of corrupt acquisition of public property and revenue, and one count of conflict of interest, contrary to the laws of Zambia. The agreement related to the full rehabilitation of 28 dysfunctional boreholes in Namwala District at a contract price of K294,000. Delivering judgment, Resident Magistrate Masautso Chimtavu found Thole and Chifokolo guilty on all four counts and sentenced them to 18 months imprisonment with hard labour, effective February 27, 2026.

Meanwhile, the third accused in the matter, Oris Simukombo, an accountant at Namwala Town Council who had been charged with one count of abuse of authority of office, was acquitted. “The Anti-Corruption Commission wishes to reiterate that misuse of public resources will not be tolerated,” Chisanga said. She added that the Commission remained resolute in its mandate to investigate and prosecute corruption in both the public and private sectors and urged members of the public to report suspected cases in order to safeguard public resources. This material, and other digital content on this website, may not be reproduced, published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed in whole or in part without prior express permission from ZAMBIA MONITOR.