COURT OF APPEAL CLEARS DPP TO REVIVE HONEY BEE CASE IN MAJOR LEGAL BREAKTHROUGH

⚖️ COURT OF APPEAL CLEARS DPP TO REVIVE HONEY BEE CASE IN MAJOR LEGAL BREAKTHROUGH

A dramatic legal turnaround has reignited the high-profile Honey Bee case, after the Court of Appeal ruled that the Director of Public Prosecutions can proceed with an appeal—despite it being filed out of time.

The ruling effectively breathes new life into the case involving former Health Minister Chitalu Chilufya and others, who were acquitted in 2021 over the controversial procurement of 22,500 health centre kits valued at $17 million.

Delivering the decision, Court of Appeal Deputy President Chalwe Mchenga dismissed a challenge against the High Court’s earlier ruling, which had granted Gilbert Phiri permission to file the appeal out of time.

Justice Mchenga held that the High Court’s decision was merely interlocutory—meaning it could not be contested at this stage—and declared the opposing application incompetent.

The development traces back to a landmark decision on September 30, 2025, when the Economic and Financial Crimes Division of the High Court ordered the reopening of the Honey Bee case. This followed arguments by the DPP that the 2021 acquittal of Dr. Chilufya and eight others was procedurally flawed.

According to Phiri, the acquittal was irregularly entered before all pleas had been taken—and critically, without the consent of the prosecution.

In response, Honey Bee Pharmacy Limited and other parties sought to block the move by appealing to the Court of Appeal—but that effort has now been decisively shut down.

With the legal barriers cleared, the stage is now set for one of Zambia’s most contentious corruption cases to return to the spotlight, carrying significant implications for accountability and the rule of law.