Police in Mansa have arrested a 42-year-old ex-convict for impersonating Chief Justice Mumba Malila.
Police spokesperson Rae Hamoonga stated that Police at Ridgeway police post have charged and arrested Emmanuel Sichinga aged 42 of Mwanguni area in Mwaiteneke compound of Mansa District for the offence impersonation contrary to Section 378 of the Penal Code Act Chapter 87 of the Laws of Zambia.
Mr Hamoonga stated that this was after police on August 12, 2022 received a report of impersonation from Anthony Kamanda of Judiciary flat house number eight on behalf of His Lordship the Chief Justice Dr. Mumba Malila State Counsel.
This is where Sichinga, who allegedly purported to be the Chief Justice, was soliciting for money from Permanent Secretaries to help with funeral expenses as he had lost his brother in Mansa.
He stated that this occurred between 8th August around 10:00 hours and 22nd August, 2022 around 14:00 hours.
“Police instituted investigations into the matter and yesterday the August 31, 2022 managed to successfully apprehend the suspect namely M/Emmanuel Sichinga aged 42 in Mansa. He is the person who had phoned the Permanent Secretaries for Ministries of Agriculture Mr Green Mbozi as well as Transport and logistics Mr Fredrick Mwalusaka later on introduced himself as Chief Justice Dr. Mumba Malila. He further asked for financial assistance from them and gave them his cell number to deposit the money,” Mr Hamoonga stated.
He stated that investigations have revealed that the suspect is an ex-convict from Kansenshi correctional facility in Ndola where he served his sentence from 2018 to 2019 for a similar offence.
“A Cell Phone, three sim cards and a telephone directory used in the commission of the offence were recovered from the suspect. He is currently detained in custody and will appear in court soon. We would like to warn all unscrupulous persons committing crimes using computer systems or the cyber space that Zambia Police Service working with Zambia Information and Communication Technology Authority have the capacity to locate them. They should not think the slightest that they will get away with their criminal activities as the long arm of the law will soon catch up with them,” Mr Hamoonga stated.