CHILANGWA TO APPEAL SENTENCE

CHILANGWA TO APPEAL SENTENCE

KAWAMBWA member of parliament Nickson Chilangwa says he will challenge his five year conviction and sentence by the Kawambwa Magistrates Court for malicious damage to property.

Chilangwa together with his Pambashe counterpart Ronald Chitotela yesterday replaced their parliamentary titles of honourable with convict after Kawambwa magistrate Martin Namushi found them guilty of malicious damage to property and arson.

Chitotela will have to wait for months for the High Court to seal his conviction with a minimum 10 year jail sentence as magistrate Namushi lacked  the sentencing power to impose the sentence on him.

Chilangwa and Chitotela were jointly charged with Chabu Chitotela , Kalumba Chifumbe, Davy Kaniki and Chibwe Musantu for arson, threatening violence, malicious damage to property, and four counts of assault.

Chilangwa and his accomplices during the  August 12, 2021 general elections while acting together assaulted four UPND members, damaged the windscreen of their vehicle, a Mahindra, before setting it ablaze and threatened violence against them.

Magistrate Namushi in convicting the lawmakers said there was need to impose a punitive sentence on the convicts to deter would be offenders from engaging in electoral violence.

Magistrates Namushi jailed Chilangwa and four others to 60 months imprisonment with hard labour for malicious damage to property.

He acquitted a business lady Charity Musanthu of arson and malicious damage to property.

Magistrate Namushi committed the Chitotelas and Kaniki to the High Court for sentencing as the offense of arson attracts a minimum sentence of 10 years due to lack of jurisdiction.

Chilangwa Chifumbe, who is Kawambwa Mayor Chabu Chitotela, Kunda Chitotela and Davis Kaniki  have also been given 18 and 11 months for threatening violence and unlawful wounding to run concurrently.

The convicts who were found guilty on arson applied for bail pending appeal which was denied by magistrate Namushi as there were no convincing reasons advanced by their lawyer.

And Boniface Chiwala who represented Chilangwa said he will push for his client’s release in the High Court when he files an appeal challenging the sentence and will do the same for Chitotela when the High Court metes out his punishment.

The two lawmakers will have their seats declared vacant if they start serving their sentences and do not challenge their conviction and sentence on time.