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Lusaka — Zambian ex-diplomat and son of former president Rupiah Banda will appeal against his conviction after a court last week found him guilty of corruption, a lawyer said on Tuesday. Andrew Banda, 53, will challenge the verdict of a magistrate court which last week sentenced him to two years in prison for soliciting bribes from an Italian road construction firm.
“The trial court erred in law when it held that he solicited and received gratification for assistance rendered to Fratelli Locci in the absence of specific evidence regarding the alleged assistance,” lawyer Milner Katolo said. “So he has appealed to the High Court and has now been released on a 10,000 kwacha ($1,745) bail,” said Milner.
Banda, who served at Zambia’s diplomatic missions in India and Italy, is one of the many officials from the former administration charged with graft, in a massive clean-up campaign launched by President Michael Sata after he came to power in 2011. — AFP
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