By PERPETUAL SICHIKWENKWE –
FORMER Mines minister, Maxwell Mwale has been sent to jail for 12 months with hard labour for abusing his authority while he served as a minister.
Mwale, the former Malambo Member of Parliament (MP) abused his ministerial position by interfering in the issuance of a mining licence to a Chinese firm, Zhongui International Mining Limited.
He ordered his subordinates to facilitate and process the mining licence for the Chinese mining firm without following laid down procedures.
Lusaka magistrate Lameck Mwale said when he sentenced Mwale yesterday that his jail term is effective from the date of his conviction on Wednesday.
. Mwale
Mr Mwale said although he had put into consideration the mitigation by Mwale’s defence lawyer Sakwiba Sikota that he was the first offender and a breadwinner who had served the country in different portfolios, he would be failing in his duties if he did not impose a custodial sentence on Mwale.
Mr Mwale said he had noticed with concern that offences bordering on abuse of authority of office by public officers have became rampant as such, there was need to deter would be offenders by meting out custodial sentences.
He however, ordered that the 1, 661 bicycles worth more than K1 million that were seized by the State from Mwale be given back to him because he acquitted him of the offence of receiving 5, 000 bicycles suspected to have been proceeds of crime.
Mr Mwale convicted the former minister in the MMD Government on Wednesday but reserved the sentencing to yesterday.
He said when he convicted Mwale that there was direct interference from Mwale just looking at the lightening speed at which the licence for Zhongui International Mining Limited was processed at the insistence of Mwale.
Mr Mwale said that Mwale had personal interest and that he did not have justification for departing from the provision of the law by directing that Zhongui International Mining Limited be given the licence because it was a big investor.
Meanwhile, Anti Corruption Commission (ACC) prosecutor Martin Mayembe said in an interview that the State would appeal to the High Court against the judgment.
Mwale’s wife, children and friends were among other people that filled the courtroom to capacity to listen to Mwale’s final verdict.
