[ IN PICTURE ] OUT- GOING Copperbelt Police Commissioner Mwala Yuyi and five others have been arrested for copper theft!
The Zambia Police Service wishes to confirm that six people have been formally charged and arrested in connection with the alleged theft of copper cathodes recovered in Mufulira District.
The suspects have been jointly charged with offences including Theft by Public Servant, Giving False Information to a Public Officer, and Receiving Property Suspected to Have Been Stolen.
The charges follow investigations into the alleged theft of 436 copper cathodes valued at approximately United States Dollars (USD) 448,596. The copper cathodes were recovered in Mokambo area of Mufulira District between March 6 and March 9, 2026.
Mr. Yuyi Mwala, former Commanding Officer for Copperbelt Province, has been charged with one count of Theft by Public Servant.
Police officers Patrick Muti and Boniface Nchimunya, Clerk of Court Obrian Chipunza, and Magistrate Edward Banda, all of Mufulira, have been jointly charged with one count of Theft by Public Servant and one count of Giving False Information to a Public Officer.
Businessman Daniel Makina has been charged with one count of Receiving Property Suspected to Have Been Stolen and one count of Giving False Information to a Public Officer.
It is alleged that the copper was being transported from the Democratic Republic of Congo to South Africa when the truck carrying the consignment was diverted into Zambia. The consignment was later recovered by police in Mokambo area of Mufulira District.
Investigations established that after the copper was placed in police custody, it was released to a private individual through an allegedly fraudulent disposal process. It is further alleged that the copper was subsequently auctioned despite the owner of the consignment having been identified.
All six suspects have since been charged and remain in police custody.
The suspects are expected to appear before court soon.
Issued:
Godfrey Chilabi
Public Relations Officer
Zambia Police Service
The rot runs deep. This is but the tip of the iceberg.
Our police force and justice sysrem are corrupt, rotten.
If the story is true, we should dig deeper. It is the only chance we have to cleanse the police. But it needs a lot of political will.