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Liato Goes In For 2 Years
Former Labour Minister Austin Liato has been handed a two year sentence with hard labour in the K2.1 billion case by a Lusaka Magistrate court.
This is in the matter in which Mr Liato was facing one count of being in possession of property suspected of being proceeds of crime contrary to section one (1) of the forfeiture of proceeds of crime Act number 19 of 2010 of the laws of Zambia.
Principal Magistrate Aridah Chulu handed Mr Liato the jail term when he appeared for judgment this morning.
Magsistrate Chulu has also forfeited the money and Mr Liato’s farm were the money was buried to the State.
In litigation Liato pleaded for leniency from the court stating that he suffers from a heart condition and takes care of a big family.
He becomes the first former senior government official of the MMD facing corruption charges in the courts of law to be convicted.
Mr Liato buried the 2.1 billion Kwacha in two steel trunks under a thick layer of concrete slab in a highly fortified and electronically fitted structure at his farm in Mumbwa.
Posted by Admin
on May 23, 2012. Filed under LATEST NEWS.
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kaseswaya
May 23, 2012 at 8:35 pm
2 yrs not much. he deserves more than that.
Barotse diaspora
May 23, 2012 at 8:48 pm
Yaba! wat a loss! That money was goin 2b investd en used in our land bre bcoz development has been robbed by zed anyway another tolia called linyungandambo wil appear and avenge bo liato. Rememba the money u stashed in wp is stil intact .i wil use it 2 hire prison breakerz and save u
Faraday
May 23, 2012 at 8:53 pm
Bamuchita bwino chikala chakwe.
top kat
May 23, 2012 at 9:45 pm
i suggest th all length and bredth of tht forfeited farm be excavated in front of cameras ths criminal cud be hidin sme more cash there.and he is so ****** why go in alone wen u knw there sme more of yo fellow thieves who u stole with.honour amongst thieves,my foot!!
WATI ...ATI
May 23, 2012 at 9:49 pm
ifya kulya ubushiku…
GUN
May 23, 2012 at 9:52 pm
Chala fuma very soon.The layer was saying they will appeal,so he must be free on bail awaiting the same.
Henrique
May 23, 2012 at 10:58 pm
Well , two years in Zed prison translates into 15years. The TB and all other contagious deseases. He should look at the positive side of doing time, it will help him lose weight.!!!
Kaonde
May 24, 2012 at 12:55 am
to which state wil tht money go? zambia or barotseland? has z ngembela applied 4 tht money? lozis, am waiting 4 yo reply soon.
Brig Mishe Collins
May 24, 2012 at 2:46 am
One down many more to go
Judge Chikopo
May 24, 2012 at 5:07 am
As judge myself i would have not found Laito guilty on the following reasons;
1.when the so called combined security wings of ACC,ZP,OP and State House guards went to search his farm they did not have a search warranty.
2.Liato was not available at the farm to confirm that indeed the property been searched was his.
3.There was no video footage of the operation ,who knows some of that money could have come from OP.
4.The men who were so called witnesses were bought off by the state .
5.The state failed to prove that the money was proceeds of crime intact the money was from well wishers .
In conclusion ,i would have acquitted Austin if this case was refereed to me by your president ,in Malawi we do not waste time like you Zambians !No wonder you are so dirty and poor .Leave to appeal granted
mwila
May 24, 2012 at 7:56 am
judge chikopo ulichikopo chacine
mwila
May 24, 2012 at 8:05 am
How true is this story for the 14 bilion can some one from DBZ UPDATE ME WHY DIDNT lupiya follow up on this???
Mwanamfumu
May 24, 2012 at 8:48 am
Dear Mr. Liato money money,
I greet in the name of Natural Justice.
This letter serves to inform your that following your conviction & the two years sentence you shall serve in jail with hard labour. I wish to voluntarily take over the assets and liabilities of your beuatiful wife.
I trust this will meet your favourable consideration.
yours sincerely
Mwanamfumu shimichita Panono
jey
May 24, 2012 at 9:34 am
Bravo! PF
suicide lover
May 24, 2012 at 9:46 am
liato sorry boi just repent and receive jesus as your personal saviour kwasila..forget about the riches and focus on God,,,,,before you knw it favour will follow you in jail
isaac
May 24, 2012 at 10:10 am
the number of years is really too small but for sure here in zambia two years is like 15 years.there was little money in the circulation at that time because of him hiding it under the rabble his weight will as well be reduced which is good for his health.
Chibwe
May 24, 2012 at 10:15 am
Check and visit TUMONE.COM for more Zambian breaking News.
Pastor RKB
May 24, 2012 at 11:08 am
While!!!!!!!!! now that Liato has gone in,where are the people who were involved in the Zamtel and Zanaco saga??????????should we wait till after 10yrs for them to be sentenced?zambian people are so peacefull,but when they are provoked they have no brakes in their mouths!!!!!!!!!!!
lol
May 24, 2012 at 12:02 pm
So when does he start his appeals and come out to be trooping to court for the next two years?
kaonde
May 24, 2012 at 12:19 pm
lozi chap very dull
de novo
May 24, 2012 at 1:29 pm
Hey, before he gets out, I need some prisoners at my farm to bring down a very big ant hill. Liato should be one of them.
de novo
May 24, 2012 at 1:35 pm
Kaonde, What currency does Barotse have. Liato robbed Zambia, so the Ngambela can’t even claim a bit.
lubuto kanyanta
May 24, 2012 at 3:22 pm
mr lioto deserves to be jailed,am very disapoited with judage chikopos decision.
Nixon
May 24, 2012 at 4:51 pm
Its rather sad to learn of this development, really one would look at this sentence as a joke but i can assure you this action has an effect. we wont be suprised if we see the number of street kids swelling.
Uncle D
May 24, 2012 at 8:15 pm
Time is catchin up with each one of them.sory for u bt gud for us mwee
amoach
May 24, 2012 at 8:15 pm
well, i support judge chikopa. the judge who passed the judgement in question is compromised by the pf. how in hell did she overlook very key issues like liato capacity to have 2 billion, the specific illegal activities that liato was involved in and the specific law that prescribes how the zambian kwacha is stored. many people have been found with cash stashed away in the ground and no one has nabbed them. this is a miscarriage of justice. that lawyer chap could also have misled liato.
DPP
May 24, 2012 at 11:34 pm
Very soon it will be PF in question.No man is perfect.prison is already waiting for some of those chaps just wait and see.liato will be out by then.
Prof; Zick
May 25, 2012 at 11:43 am
Liato’s mock to the courts is a sign of corrupt system in courts,shame political parties