The Lusaka Magistrates’ Court has sentenced Zambia Air Force (ZAF) Warrant Officer Class 1 Albert Siyunda and his wife, Nandina Lyatamani, to three years in prison after finding them guilty of possessing property worth over K7 million, suspected to be proceeds of crime.
Principal Magistrate Sylvia Munyinya convicted the couple on seven counts related to the possession and concealment of properties under Section 71 of the Forfeiture of Proceeds of Crime Act No. 19 of 2010.
The prosecution proved that between January 1, 2020, and December 31, 2021, Siyunda and Lyatamani acquired multiple properties in Lusaka, including in Ibex Hills, New Kasama, Chalala and Lilayi.
The properties, including six residential houses registered in Lyatamani’s name and one in Siyunda’s name, were allegedly bought using funds of suspicious origin.
During the trial, it was revealed that Siyunda engaged a construction company for some of the properties while others were purchased in cash.
Among the assets seized were two properties in New Kasama valued at approximately K3 million, a block of two flats in Mtendere-East worth K1.2 million, and other houses in Chalala, Lilayi and Ibex Hill.
The couple claimed they financed the purchases through Siyunda’s salary and profits from a boat business operated in the Democratic Republic of Congo.
However, Magistrate Munyinya ruled that their explanations lacked credible supporting evidence.
“The accused persons have failed to provide a reasonable explanation of how they acquired the properties in question. They have failed to satisfy the court that the prosecution had no reasonable grounds for suspecting that these properties were derived directly or indirectly from unlawful activity,” she stated.
The court noted inconsistencies in the couple’s testimony, particularly regarding claims that large sums of money were transported from Congo without official documentation or banking records. Testimonies about using loans for property acquisition were also found to be unsubstantiated.
Given the lack of financial records, border declarations, or credible witnesses to support their defense, the court concluded that the prosecution had proved its case on the balance of probabilities.
Siyunda and Lyatamani have 14 days to appeal the verdict.
