⬆️ COURT WATCH | Justice, Tribe, and the Temptation of Selective Outrage
This week in Zambia’s courts, the conversation around justice has collided with politics again. The acquittal of Hibeene Mwiinga, the reopening of the Honey Bee corruption case, the conviction of Kingsley Chanda, and the bail granted to Maria Zaloumesi, popularly known as Zedfarmer, have all stirred sharp public reactions. Within hours of these rulings, Patriotic Front sympathisers claimed that the justice system targets Northerners and Easterners while protecting Tongas and Lozis.
Acquitted, But Questioned
The Lusaka Magistrate Court on Friday acquitted Hibeene Mwiinga, a former economic adviser to the late President Edgar Lungu, along with his wife Mercy Munsanje and son Hakaantu, of all corruption-related charges. The State had accused them of possessing proceeds of crime worth more than K41 million and over US$200,000, but the court ruled that prosecutors failed to prove the allegations.
Mwiinga, who comes from Southern Province, had long faced political scrutiny because of his ties to the former president. His acquittal reignited debate over whether justice is blind or influenced by invisible political balances.
Honey Bee Case Reopened
In a separate ruling, the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) secured leave from the Economic and Financial Crimes Court to appeal out of time against the 2021 acquittal of former Health Minister Dr. Chitalu Chilufya and Honey Bee Pharmacy Limited.
The case involves the controversial US$17 million health kit contract that became a national scandal. The court found that the original acquittal was irregular and made without proper jurisdiction, giving the DPP the right to reopen prosecution. The move signals renewed energy to revisit corruption cases that were closed under questionable circumstances.
ZRA Conviction and the “Car Scandal”
Former Zambia Revenue Authority (ZRA) Commissioner-General Kingsley Chanda was sentenced to six years in prison for abuse of authority. The court heard that he illegally donated government vehicles, including some confiscated from criminal operations, to PF officials and several clergymen. Among the beneficiaries was Archbishop Alick Banda, then a known PF ally.
The conviction has raised new debate about how far political patronage extended under the PF government and how blurred the line between state resources and party power became.
Zedfarmer Granted Bail
In another development, Maria Zaloumesi, popularly known as Zedfarmer, was granted bail after the court reduced her charge from murder to manslaughter in the Frank Simfukwe case. According to sources, the new findings showed the incident lacked premeditation. Zaloumesi, a Lozi, has been a social media personality and agricultural entrepreneur.
Her case has been widely covered, especially by those framing it as an example of regional bias in prosecution.
The Narrative of Tribal Justice
PF supporters have seized on these recent cases to argue that law enforcement agencies are sparing Tongas and Lozis while targeting Northerners and Easterners. But the logic does not stand up to scrutiny.
The truth is that most current prosecutions involve individuals who held senior government positions during the PF years. Their arrests are linked to access, not ancestry. When you controlled ministries, parastatals, and procurement, you inevitably became part of the accountability chain.
The claim of selective justice is a political shield, not an evidential argument. The same justice system that convicted a Bemba has also acquitted a Tonga. The same judiciary that jailed a Northerner has also freed a Lozi. What matters is not which region the accused comes from, but what evidence exists.
Justice Without Tribe
What Zambians should demand is consistency. The fight against corruption and abuse of office must be guided by evidence, not ethnicity. When your tribesman is jailed, do not look at the tribe; look at the proof. When another is acquitted, do not assume favour; ask for the record.
Justice, if it is to restore confidence, must remain unshaken by regional loyalties. The moment citizens begin to see handcuffs through tribal lenses, justice itself becomes tribal.
The reality is simple. Many former officials from Northern and Eastern provinces are now facing the law because they occupied the levers of power for a decade which is under scrutiny. That is not persecution. It is the return of accountability.
As one senior lawyer put it outside the Lusaka High Court yesterday, “The problem is not who is being prosecuted. The problem is that we still see tribe before truth.”
If Zambia is to move forward, that must change.
© The People’s Brief
Vyakulola Vye.
Observing the Zambia we have become… Never before seen in the Country..
1. Honourable Chishimba Kambwili – Tonga Hate Speech
2. Honourable Chishimba Kambwili – Unlawful Assembly at his home
3. Charles Kakula – Co Accused with Hon Chishimba Kambwili for Unlawful Assembly.
4. Hon Nixon Chilangwa – For Electoral Violence involving the Patriotic Front and UPND Cadres
5. Hon Ronald Chitotela – For Electoral Violence involving the Patriotic Front and UPND Cadres
6. Hon Maureen Mabonga – Sedition
7. Hon Jay Jay Banda – Aggravated Robbery
8. Hon Edith Nawakwi ( late ) detained for Sedition over 10 days, even missing her India Medical appointment for Sedition
9. Apostle Dan Pule Sedition or something like Tribal Wars
10. Hon Munir Zulu – Sedition, Criminal Defamation of Hon Situmbeko Musokotwane and Hon Charles Milupi…and Tonga Hate Speech for saying People from Lumezi are smarter than those from Bweengwa ( looks like Douglas Siakalima ‘s poverty of the Mind Statement against people of Luapula)
11. Hon Given Katuta – Alleged Spitting
12. Hon Jean Chisenga – Detained over Kawambwa Bye Elections Issues
13. Hon Celestine Mukandila – Kawambwa Bye Elections Issues
14. Hon Mumbi Phiri – Detained for close to a year over Electoral Violence involving PF and UPND Cadres in which one UPND Cadre, Lawrence Banda AKA Ghadafi was killed .
15. Hon Mumbi Phiri – Detained for Issues related to Kawambwa Bye Elections
13. Hon Geoffrey Bwalya Mwamba – Being in possession of property suspected to be proceeds of Crime
14. Hon Bowman Lusambo – Being in possession of property suspected to be proceeds of Crime
15. Hon Bowman Lusambo – Unlawful Assembly at Brimas Station
16. Billy Sichamba – Co Accused with Hon Lusambo for Unlawful Assembly
17. Said Chibwana – Co Accused with Hon Lusambo for Unlawful Assembly
18. Matthews Changwe- Co Accused with Hon Lusambo for Unlawful Assembly
19. Martin Simfukwe – Co Accused with Hon Lusambo for Unlawful Assembly
20. Dr Fred Mmembe – Detained for Allegedly discharging a firearm, Sedition for giving an Interview
21. Dr Fred Mmembe ‘s Co Accused – Daniel Mumba
22. Ambassador Emmanuel Mwamba – Alleged Assault of Police Officer
23. Brebnar Changala – Sedition
24. Hon Raphael Nakachinda – Hate Speech
25. Innocent Phiri – Journalist
26. Mwenda Kasonde – EFF President Unlawful Assembly
27. 13 EFF Members
40. Rizwaan Patel – Detained for close to 2 years for alleged Aggravated Robbery offence on Chama America and his ‘ FBI’ friend.
41. Rizwaan Patel Co Accused – Joseph Phiri
42. Rizwaan Patel Co Accused – Grey Daka
43. Rizwaan Patel Co Accused – Simon Nkhoma
44. Catherine Mphanza – Chipata Woman imprisoned for Ridicule of the President over the death of Edgar Lungu comments
45. Mary Lungu – Imprisoned for Ridicule of the President over the death of Edgar Lungu comments.
46. Jackson Chama – Tonga Hate Speech
47. Francis Kapwepwe – aka Why Me – Tonga Hate Speech
44. Madam Esther Lungu – Theft of Motor vehicle
45. Tasila Lungu – Being in possession of property suspected to be proceeds of Crime
46. Chiyesu Lungu – Being in possession of property suspected to be proceeds of crime
47. Hon Binwell Mpundu – Sedition
48. Sean Tembo
49. Thomas Zulu – Gen Z, detained for close to 2 weeks for demonstrating against Load Shedding
50. Jason Mwanza Gen Z , detained for close to 2 weeks for demonstrating against Load Shedding
51. Chanda Chikwanka, detained for close to 2 weeks for demonstrating against Load Shedding
52. Petty Chanda – Journalist
53. Thomas Zgambo – Journalist
54. Rodgers Mwimba – Journalist
55. Thandizo Banda – Photo Journalist
56. Shebby Chilekwa – Imprisoned for Murder over Electoral Violence involving the Patriotic Front and UPND Cadres.
57. Hon Davies Chama – Imprisoned for Violence involving the Patriotic Front and UPND Cadres
58. Hon Davies Mwila
59. Mr Kingsley Chanda – former ZRA Director General – 6 Years for abuse of Office
60. Mr Kaoma – 9 years imprisonment for not following procedures
61. Hon Joe Malanji – 4 years Imprisonment – being in possession of property suspected to be proceeds of Crime.
62. Wanziya Chirwa ( Mrs Kampyongo) – Being in possession of property suspected to be proceeds of Crime
63. Dr Zumani Zimba – Some gassing Case
And many more out there , yes Dr Chitalu Chilufya …
Is this normal I ask ?
Hibeene Mwiinga and Wife, ever tasted any Detention??? Cells Not for them.
And yes acquitted , for being in possession of property suspected to be proceeds of crime.. Always clean.
There’s another one, Zed farmer, Maria Zaloumis the name, It’s for another day . Man Slaughter I hear, can’t be murder for them….and Granted Bail…
and the cause list ? your guess is as good as mine.
Vyakulola Vye Sure Sure!
Yes, a disturbing pattern is emerging where cases involving those from Southern and Western provinces are fluffed up and end in acquitals just like we saw with Mr. Chitotela and Dr. Chilufya during the reign of the notorious PF. Both were acquited of corruption. Iam keenly following the case of the Livingstone mayor to see how it develops.
However, personally, if this biased justice instills a sense of more responsible behaviour and respect for public property in my kinsmen, I will be the happiest man on earth. The damage that we inflicted on our nation with the collusion of our cousins from the East numbs the mind.