LUSAKA - A Mwaka Freight Cargo employee has been sentenced to two years' simple imprisonment for offering a K70,000 bribe to a wildlife ranger to facilitate the release of two impounded trucks.
Mukanta Shapi, who was Head of Department - Customs at Mwaka Freight Cargo, was arrested by the Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) in November 2024 and charged with one count of Corrupt Practices with a Public Officer.
According to the ACC, Shapi, jointly and acting together with other persons unknown, corruptly offered K70,000 and gave K40,000 in cash to Bright Nkhoma, a Wildlife Ranger at the Department of National Parks and Wildlife.
The money was offered as an inducement to facilitate the release of two impounded trucks belonging to AMS Logistics.
The first truck comprised two horse-and-trailer units laden with timber, with registration numbers AJD 2463 and ALE 5806T, while the second consisted of a horse bearing registration number ADM 8399 and a trailer bearing registration number AAX 3080T.
In a statement, ACC Head of Corporate Communications Joseph Mwenya said the Lusaka Subordinate Court convicted and sentenced Shapi.
He said Justice Sylvia Munyinya, sitting as Chief Resident Magistrate in the Lusaka Subordinate Court of the First Class, sentenced Shapi to two years' simple imprisonment on one count of Corrupt Practices with a Public Officer.
The sentence took effect from yesterday, the date of judgment.
The ACC has warned members of the public that the conviction should serve as a strong deterrent to would-be offenders, particularly those who engage in offering bribes to public officers.
"The conviction demonstrates that acts of corruption, in all their forms, have serious consequences and that those who engage in corrupt practices will be held accountable," Mr Mwenya said.
Source: Kalemba | By: Elizabeth Muchape