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 the subordinate court decision and dismantled the earlier lenient outcome in the Kamono Farming Initiatives case.
The High Court has replaced the “fine-only” penalties imposed by the lower court with prison sentences, higher fines, and a full conviction for money laundering.
The ruling is a major blow to Kamono’s leadership, Mr. Funwell Zulu, Mr. Enock Chibutu, and Ms. Mirriam Soko, who had previously walked out of the Lusaka Magistrates’ Court on October 31, 2024, under financial penalties only.
The Subordinate Court had convicted the Appellants on the charges of Operating a banking business without a licence and Conducting a money circulation scheme.
It imposed fines of K100,000 on the first Appellant, Kamono Farming Initiative Limited (KFIL) in Count One and K70,000 in Count Two.
It further fined the second to fourth Appellants K60,000 each on each count and ordered that if they failed to pay, they faced nine months’ simple imprisonment per count.
Dissatisfied with these convictions and sentences, the convicts appealed against their convictions and the sentences.
Importantly, the court acquitted all three directors on money laundering charges, which prompted the State’s cross appeal against the acquittal.
The State was represented in this matter by Principal State Advocate in the Economic and Financial Crimes Department (EFCD) of the National Prosecution Authority (NPA), Mr Mukuma Chilila Chipawa; State Advocate Ms. Bulangizi Mweetwa, also from the EFCD of the NPA; and Mr Steven Sumbukeni, Assistant Director (Legal) in the Anti-Money Laundering Unit (AMLU) of the Drug Enforcement Commission (DEC).
The prosecution team argued that the penalties imposed were too low given the scale of harm caused to members of the public. They further argued that once the court found the Appellants had operated an illegal banking business and a money circulation scheme, a finding of money laundering should have followed.
The High Court agreed with the prosecution that the lower court had been too lenient in its sentencing and in its decision to acquit the accused on money laundering charges.
The appellate court found further, as argued by the Prosecution team, that the penalties did not reflect the seriousness of the offences and that stronger punishment was necessary.
High Court Judges, Wanjelani, Mabolobolo and Siloka, stated that the sentences imposed by the lower court came to the court with a sense of shock.
The court has set aside (or cancelled) the earlier fines in count one and ordered each appellant to:
Pay K180,000 and to
Serve 18 months’ imprisonment.
The court has further ruled that if they fail to pay the K180,000 fine, they will serve an additional nine months’ simple imprisonment.
Under count two, the court has also rejected the earlier penalties and increased the fines from K60,000 to K76,000 each.
In the most significant change, the High Court has set aside or rejected the acquittal entered by the Subordinate Court in count three and found all three directors guilty of money laundering.
Each has been sentenced to 30 months’ imprisonment (2.5 years).
The court has ordered that all prison sentences will run concurrently. This means the directors will serve all their sentences at the same time, rather than one after the other. In this case, the 18-month sentence for Count 1 will be served alongside the 30-month sentence for Count 3. As a result, the directors will serve 30 months in total, not 48 months.
This is case where the Appellants, KFIL, Funwell Zulu, Enock Chibutu and Mirriam Soko, solicited investments from members of the public under the promise of high returns from agricultural ventures. Investors were told their money would be used in farming activities expected to generate substantial profits.
However, evidence presented in court showed that the returns paid to earlier investors were not generated from farming activities, but were instead paid using money from new investors. The court found this structure consistent with a Ponzi-style scheme.
The High Court ruling has now changed the case from one involving fines and partial acquittals to one involving prison sentences and full criminal liability, including money laundering convictions.
The court also made it clear that such schemes cannot be treated as minor offences resolved through financial penalties alone.
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 filed an affidavit expressing their interest in the property and assets linked to the scheme, and have 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.
#KamonoFarming #PonziScheme #NPAZambia #JusticeForVictims
HIGH COURT REJECTS
SUBORDINATE COURT LENIENCY, IMPOSES PRISON SENTENCES ON KAMONO DIRECTORS
