Victoria Falls, Zimbabwe | December 1, 2025 – The Asset Recovery Inter-Agency Network for Southern Africa (ARINSA) officially opened its 2025 Annual General Meeting today with a convening of its Steering Committee, bringing together representatives from all 17 member states at the Victoria Falls Safari Lodge in Victoria Falls town in Zimbabwe. The meeting marked a purposeful beginning to the Network’s annual governance cycle and provided a structured opportunity to assess progress and refine priorities for the year ahead. Held against the backdrop of one of Southern Africa’s most iconic destinations, the Steering Committee reflected on ARINSA’s achievements and the challenges facing the Network. Delegates engaged in constructive discussions aimed at strengthening cooperation, enhancing information sharing, and supporting the effective implementation of the Network’s mandate. Budget and funding considerations rounded out the agenda. The session included a detailed reflection on

Lusaka | November, 28, 2025 – The Lusaka High Court has granted bail to former senior government official Fredson Kango Yamba, a procedural development that now propels a high-stakes legal case which could redefine how Zambia frames and prosecutes complex corruption-related offences. Yamba, convicted on 3 September 2025 and sentenced to three years imprisonment with hard labour, was released on bail after the court isolated what it termed a “novel point of law of public importance.” That designation has effectively elevated the matter from an ordinary appeal to a test case with national implications. The hearing exposed a sharp division in legal interpretation, driven largely by the defence’s attempt to anchour the appeal on a meticulously technical reading of the charge sheet. Counsel for Yamba argued that because Count 1 listed several provisions of the Public Finance Management Act, specifically

Zambia | November 25, 2025 – Across Zambia, from the bustling capital to provincial hubs, prosecutors of the National Prosecution Authority (NPA) were cloaked not in their traditional black, but in a blaze of orange. This is no casual dress code. It is a uniform of intent. The colour orange, in the global campaign for the 16 Days of Activism Against Gender-Based Violence, carries two powerful meanings. It is the colour of fire – a warning flare against the darkness of abuse, a signal of urgent, unignorable action. It refuses to let us look away from the shadows where violence thrives. Yet, it is also the colour of dawn representing hope, light, and a brighter, safer future we are building together. It is a visible, public pledge of a world where women and girls can live without fear. This year,

Lusaka | November 24, 2025 – A high-level Kenyan justice delegation yesterday presented a proposal to strengthen Zambia’s Communication, Cooperation and Coordination Initiative(CCCI) by providing it with legislative backing, during a strategic meeting with Director of Public Prosecutions Mr. Gilbert A. Phiri S.C. The delegation, led by Ms. Jacinta Nyamosi, Deputy Director from Kenya’s Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions, and comprising Ms. Judy Gitau Nkuranga, Regional Coordinator for Equality Now, alongside Ms. Nina Masore and Ms. Sylvia Yiantet from Kenya’s National Council on the Administration of Justice, engaged in substantive discussions with the DPP and his senior team on enhancing access to justice through institutional reforms. The NPA’s senior leadership presence, including Chief Administrator Ms. Cassandra Soko, Acting Chief State Advocate and Head of Gender Based Crimes and Child Protection Department Mrs. Chali Mbewe-Hambayi and Deputy Chief State

Kitwe | November 21, 2025 – The atmosphere in the Moba Hotel conference hall was charged with anticipation as the learned Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP), Mr. Gilbert A. Phiri S.C., took the podium as Guest of Honour at the Intergenerational Forum against Gender-Based Violence. Before an audience that spanned generations – from adolescent students to permanent secretaries, corporate leaders to grassroots activists – the DPP chose this significant platform to announce what may become the most consequential shift in Zambia’s fight against gender-based violence. The forum, organised by the Gender Division in collaboration with the National Prosecution Authority and United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) under the African Women Leaders Network, brought together precisely the cross-section of Zambian society needed to witness such a game-changing declaration. Against this backdrop of unified purpose, our nation’s Chief Prosecutor revealed that the National

Isoka, Chinsali, Mbala, Senanga | November 2025 — The National Prosecution Authority (NPA), working together with the Sexual Reproductive and Health Rights Trust (SAT), has continued pushing its community-based fight against gender-based violence by extending its GBV legal framework trainings to Isoka in Muchinga Province, Chinsali and Mbala in the Northern Province and Senanga in Western Province. The new sessions build on earlier work carried out in Chipata and Chama. The trainings brought together a wide group of frontline responders, police officers, health workers, social welfare staff, media personnel and others who often serve as the first point of contact for survivors.The initiative aims to create a unified front by ensuring all stakeholders share a common understanding of GBV case management, referral pathways, and survivor support services. The Isoka, Chinsali and Mbala sessions were led by Mr. Samuel Simwaka, Deputy

Kitwe | November 19, 2025 -The Kitwe High Court has convicted and sentenced three police officers for one count of the offence of Aggravated Robbery contrary to section 294(2) of the Penal Code Chapter 87 of the Laws of Zambia. The case cited as The People vs.Richard Mpengaula and Four Others, was heard before Lady Justice Abbah Patel at the Kitwe High Court. According to the evidence before court, Richard Mpengaula, Teddy Nyirenda, Kennedy Mwansa, Luka Mtonga and Peter Kamabayenda were jointly charged with one count of the offence of Aggravated Robbery. Particulars of the offence were that on January 3, 2020, at Kitwe in the Kitwe District of the Copperbelt Province of the Republic of Zambia, the accused persons whilst acting together and whilst armed with a firearm, did steal a copper blister, a chain block and 4 steel

Cape Town, South Africa | November 2025 – The National Prosecution Authority (NPA) is currently participating in a Gender-Based Violence (GBV) Regional Conference in Cape Town, South Africa. The meeting, themed, “Regional Reflection and Knowledge Exchange,” is supported by the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC). The conference aims to highlight key achievements in GBV justice and create a platform for Southern African nations to share successful methodologies, lessons learned, and innovative practices for replication across the region. Representing the NPA and Zambia at the conference are two key specialists from the Authority’s Gender Based Crimes and Child Protection Department – Mrs. Chali Mbewe-Hambayi, Deputy Chief State Advocate, and Mrs. Monde Chizongo,Senior State Advocate, who have taken a leading role in the knowledge exchange.During the conference, the Zambian delegation delivered three key presentations: The conference has brought together

Lusaka | November 18, 2025*– The Director of Public Prosecutions, Mr. Gilbert A. Phiri SC, personally led a high-level National Prosecution Authority (NPA) delegation in strategic talks with the Indian High Commission on Friday, November 14, 2025. The delegation comprised the Authority’s Chief Administrator, Ms. Cassandra Soko; the Acting Chief State Advocate, Mrs. Chali Mbewe-Hambayi, who also serves as head of the Gender Based Crimes and Child Protection Department; the Deputy Chief State Advocate who heads the Asset Forfeiture Department, Ms. Margaret Kapambwe-Chitundu; and State Advocate in the Taxation and Financial Crimes Department, Mr. Sylvester Banda. The meeting focused on translating the long-standing Zambia-India relationship into a strong operational legal alliance. Central to the discussions was the finalisation of a comprehensive Mutual Legal Assistance (MLA) treaty. This critical agreement will establish formal channels for evidence exchange, asset recovery, and joint

Lusaka | 14 November 2025 – The intricate investigative trail that led the Drug Enforcement Commission (DEC) to alleged drug-trafficking queenpin Khadija Agatha Mingel is now a matter of court record. In detailed testimony delivered yesterday, a DEC officer outlined a coordinated surveillance and sting operation that culminated in the arrest of the 36-year-old Kitwe businesswoman and the seizure of suspected cocaine.Testifying before Principal Resident Magistrate Honourable Mungala at the Lusaka Magistrate’s Court, Assistant Security Officer Mr. Muzumbwe who was called as Prosecution Witness number three (PW3), recounted how the operation began with a confidential informant’s tip-off indicating that a drug transaction would take place at Sabina Puma Filling Station in Kitwe. The informant provided specific details, including that the unknown suspect would arrive in a black Toyota Mark X, registration AFB 3930.Acting on this intelligence, a joint DEC team