Zambia : 55 Year Old Nchelenge Man Fined K5, 000.00 In Botched NRC Deal

The Nchelenge Magistrate’s Court has fined a 55-year-old man K5,000.00 and sentenced his 23-year-old accomplice to 12 months imprisonment with hard labour for attempting to obtain an NRC by false pretences.
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‎Philip Makungu and Ruben Ngandwe, both of Chabilikila Village in Nchelenge District, pleaded guilty to attempting to commit a misdemeanour, contrary to Sections 390 and 316 of the Penal Code, Chapter 87 of the Laws of Zambia.
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‎The two appeared before Resident Magistrate Luckson Mbewe for plea.
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‎Particulars of the offence are that on July 28, 2026, in Nchelenge District, Makungu and Ngandwe, acting jointly and whilst acting together, attempted to commit an offence of obtaining registration by false pretences.
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‎ Brief facts were that two years ago, Ephraim Mwenya of Kanyembo Village died. Mwenya was a beneficiary of the Social Cash Transfer programme and was related to Ngandwe.
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‎State Prosecutor Sinyinda Mbangweta told the court that Ngandwe attempted to replace the SIM card associated with the deceased’s NRC in an effort to continue accessing funds from the Social Cash Transfer programme.
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‎Mr Mbangweta said Ngandwe was advised by Airtel agents to have the NRC replaced because it was unclear.
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‎”On July 28, 2026, the two went to the Nchelenge Registration Office, where Makungu allegedly presented himself using the identity of Ephraim Mwenya,”he said.
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‎He said the NRC was submitted to the registration officer and Makungu was ushered into an office for verification.
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‎”However, during the verification process, it was discovered that the NRC belonged to the deceased who was born in 1957 and had been issued in Chingola in 1974,”he said.
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‎Mbangweta narrated that the responses given by Makungu during the verification process did not match the information contained in the registration records, leading to the attempted fraud being uncovered.
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‎When asked whether the facts presented by the State were true, both accused persons admitted that they were.
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‎In mitigation, Defence Counsel Castrol Musona of the Legal Aid Board pleaded for leniency, telling the court that his clients were family men who had pleaded guilty at the earliest opportunity and had not wasted the court’s time.
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‎”I plead with the court to temper justice with mercy by giving my clients a suspended sentence because their families will suffer if given a custodial sentence,” pleaded Musona.
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‎Passing judgment, Magistrate Mbewe said he had taken into consideration that the two were first offenders and had readily admitted the charge
‎”I hereby fine Makungu K5,000, in default of six months’ simple imprisonment and sentence  Ngandwe to 12 months imprisonment with hard labour,”he ruled.

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