NPA asks court to add years to Joe Malanji and Fredson Yamba's prison terms and overturn Malanji's hotel acquittal

The National Prosecution Authority has asked the Court of Appeal to lengthen the prison sentences handed to former Foreign Affairs Minister Joe Malanji and former Secretary to the Treasury Fredson Yamba, saying they are too lenient for the seriousness of the offences and the amount of public money involved. Mr Malanji was sentenced to four years and Mr Yamba to three years. The prosecution argues the terms do not reflect the gravity of the offences and are unlikely to discourage other public officers from similar conduct. It also asks the court to overturn Mr Malanji's acquittal on a charge involving the Royal Gibson Hotel, which prosecutors suspect to be proceeds of crime. ## Background On 3 September 2025 the Economic and Financial Crimes Court in Lusaka convicted both men in the helicopter case, one of the biggest corruption cases the NPA has brought. Mr Yamba was convicted on two counts of wilfully failing to follow the law and procedure for managing public property, under section 34(2)(b) of the Anti-Corruption Act No. 3 of 2012. Mr Malanji was convicted on seven counts of possessing property reasonably suspected to be proceeds of crime, under section 71(1) of the Forfeiture of Proceeds of Crime Act No. 19 of 2010, and was acquitted on count five, which concerned the Royal Gibson Hotel. The next day Chief Resident Magistrate Irene Wishimanga sentenced them to hard labour, four years for Mr Malanji and three for Mr Yamba. Director of Public Prosecutions Gilbert Phiri SC filed a notice of appeal against both sentences and the acquittal in September 2025, and said more grounds could be added once the full judgment was reviewed. ## Why it matters The case is a test of whether people who handled large amounts of public money face penalties heavy enough to matter. The money at stake belongs to taxpayers, and a hotel that the state says was bought with suspected proceeds is property the state may try to forfeit if the acquittal is overturned. ## What happens next