Zambia Health Minister Denies Corruption Charges, Could Get Five Years Imprisonment

The Zambian Health Minister, Chitalu Chilufya has on Thursday pleaded not guilty to corruption charges on the first day of a trial for allegedly using ill-gotten gains to acquire property and assets.

Chilufya who is 47 years old, was arrested last month and charged with four different counts of possession of property “suspected of being proceeds of crime”.

“I understand the charges and I plead not guilty,” Chilufya told judge Lameck Mwale at the magistrate court in Zambia’s capital Lusaka.

According to court documents, Chilufya bought around $215,000-worth of shares in a lakeside lodge in 2017. He is also accused of using $165,000 to purchase a guest house and $52,000 for a boat.