THE Lusaka Magistrates’ Court has denied to grant former Kabushi PF member of parliament Bowman Lusambo bail pending his appeal of a four-year sentence.

On November 8, 2024, the Economic and Financial Crimes Court sentenced Lusambo to four years imprisonment with hard labour on corruption charges.

Lusaka Magistrate Faides Hamaundu also fined him K27,000 for tax evasion.

Dissatisfied with the sentence, Lusambo appealed against it in the Lusaka High Court.

In his grounds of appeal filed in the Lusaka High Court Principal Registry by Messrs D Findlay and Associates, Lusambo argued that Magistrate Hamaundu erred in law and in fact when she convicted him for corrupt acquisition of public property.

He also argued that Magistrate Hamaundu erred in law and in fact when she convicted him for tax evasion.

Lusambo also stated that Magistrate Hamaundu erred in law and in fact by analysing the evidence in an unbalanced manner.

He further applied for bail pending hearing and determination of his appeal.

But when the matter came up for ruling of his application for bail pending his appeal before Magistrate Hamaundu in Chambers, the court declined to exercise its discretion to grant him bail.

Magistrate Hamaundu denied Lusambo bail on the premise that the grounds of his appeal do not have prospects of success.

Meanwhile, Magistrate Hamaundu has set January 17, 2025, as date for ruling on the prosecution’s application to have Lusambo’s properties forfeited to the state.