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With a smile on her face, once-upon- feared Police Deputy Inspector-General, Charity Katanga, waved goodbye to her family, friends and the media as she was taken to a holding cell after been handed a three year simple imprisonment for possession of property deemed as proceeds of crime worth over US$2 million.
Katanga, together with other persons unknown, on dates unknown but between January 01, 2017 and June, 06 2022 bought 10 Higer Buses, valued over US$2 million suspected to be proceeds of crime.
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Delivering judgement on Monday, Lusaka Chief Resident Magistrate, Davies Chibwili, said Katanga had failed to give a satisfactorily explanation of the source of her funds to acquire the luxurious buses as the money was not from her accounts.
“If the money that was paid to Higher for the buses did not come from her earnings as demonstrated in her answers, then were did it come from? Take for instance the payments for the first two busess in 2017, a total of K3, 933,000 was paid to Higher from July 2017 to December 2017 in four installments. Where did that money come from especially that it did not come from any of the accounts the accused was linked to,” Magistrate Chibwili said.
He said Katanga had failed to discharge the evidential burden placed on her by section 71(2) of the Forfeiture of Proceeds of Crime Act number 19 of 2010 and dismissed her defence as afterthought accordingly.
In mitigation, the convict through her lawyer, Benjamin Mwelwa, pleaded for leniency saying she had worked for the nation and protected lives and properties through out her duties.
She said the tag of “convict” was enough punishment for her senior standing in society.
But Magistrate Chibwili said Katanga had put a stain on the uniform and the police service as she was chasing criminals when she too was one.
“It is important to pass a sentence that will send a clear signal to those of us in positions of responsibility to be honest and act appropriately in our offices. Because after been caught the fall from grace is much harder than for an ordinary citizen,” he said.
Katanga is married to former Central Province Police Commissioner, Chola Katanga.
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