THE Economic and Financial Crimes Court, High Court Division, has forfeited a three-storey lodge in Ibex Hill to the state, allegedly developed by former president Edgar Chagwa Lungu. The court ruled that the lodge, owned by Charles Phiri, is reasonably suspected to be a proceed of crime. It emphasised that neither Lungu nor Phiri provided reliable evidence demonstrating legitimate financial means to construct the property. On June 13, 2023, Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) Gilbert Phiri filed an application for non-conviction-based forfeiture of the lodge. In response, Phiri claimed Lungu had developed the property on the understanding that Phiri would later receive rental income. “That Dr. Edgar Chagwa Lungu thereafter offered to develop the Property together with his property which...
