HIGH COURT REJECTS SUBORDINATE COURT LENIENCY, IMPOSES PRISON SENTENCES ON KAMONO DIRECTORS
Lusaka | June 24, 2026 – In a stunning judicial escalation that has sent shockwaves through Zambia’s financial sector, the Economic and Financial Crimes Division ( EFCC) of the High Court has overturned (or rejected) the subordinate court decision and dismantled the legal protection behind the infamous Kamono Farming Initiatives money circulating scheme.
In a strong appellate judgment that completely reverses the leniency of the lower court, the High Court has stripped the Kamono Farming Intiativd directors of their “fine-only” escape routes, slapped them with heavier penalties and sentenced them to prison time.
The ruling is a major blow to Kamono’s leadership, Mr. Funwell Zulu, Mr. Enock Chibutu, and Ms. Mirriam Soko who on October 31, 2024, walked out of the Lusaka Magistrates’ Court under the soft safety net of mere financial penalties.
The High Court made it unequivocally clear that running a K134 million unlicensed financial empire will no longer be treated as a cost-of-doing-business offence. In Count One (operating a banking business without a licence) the High Court flatly set aside (or cancelled) the Magistrate’s minor fines. Instead, the court has ordered each Appellant to pay a staggering K180,000. More significantly, the court has in addition to those fines also sentenced the second, third, and fourth Appellants to 18 months’ imprisonment, with a further nine months simple imprisonment if they default on (or fail to pay) the cash penalty.
In Count Two (conducting a money circulation scheme) the court again tore up the previous sentencing notes, raising the individual fines from K60,000 to K76,000 each.
The true climax of the judgment lay in the cross-appeal fiercely waged by the National Prosecution Authority (NPA). While the Subordinate Court had previously acquitted the trio of money laundering, a ruling that left thousands of defrauded depositors in despair, the High Court has completely set aside (or rejected) that acquittal. It has found the directors guilty on Count Three (Money Laundering), and it has handed down a 30-month (2.5-year) prison sentence.
This judgment changes the entire narrative for white-collar crime in Zambia. For the thousands of families who poured their life savings into Kamono’s “agricultural ventures,” this is the first taste of real, uncompromised justice. The directors can no longer hide behind corporate entities or rely on illicitly gained wealth to pay off cheap court fines.
The message from the High Court is loud, clear, and final that the era of the untouchable Ponzi scheme architects in Zambia is officially over.
NEXT STEPS ~ VICTIMS AWAIT DECISION IN ASSET FORFEITURE CASE
Victims of the collapsed Kamono Farming Initiatives scheme are now awaiting a separate court decision that will determine the future of the company’s remaining cash and assets.
That separate matter is before the civil division of the Economic and Financial Crimes Court, where the Learned Director of Public Prosecutions has applied for the non-conviction based forfeiture of all cash, property, and assets linked to Kamono Farming Initiatives Limited. The application seeks to have the court declare that assets believed to be proceeds of the scheme should be forfeited to the State.
The victims have also joined those proceedings as interested parties. They have filed an affidavit expressing their interest in the property and assets linked to the scheme, and asked the court to take their position into account in the determination of the matter.
What is now pending is judgment by the court. That decision will determine whether the assets will be forfeited and how they will be dealt with under the law.
Follow us for updates as this case continues to unfold in court.
NPA