THE Drug Enforcement Commission has arrested two Lusaka businessmen for stealing over K740,000 belonging to the Zambia Statistics Agency (ZamStats).
It is reported that the duo channelled the money into personal expenses ranging from school fees to household shopping.
The suspects, Edward Mulenga, 39, and Patrick Phiri, 50, both of Garden House in Lusaka, were picked up by the Anti–Money Laundering Investigations Unit following months of investigations into missing public funds.
According to DEC public relations officer Allan Tamba, the pair acted together with unknown accomplices between 1 December 2024 and 30 August 2025, during which they allegedly stole K749,430 belonging to ZamStats.
The money had reportedly been entrusted to them in connection with agency work.
However, the two tribal cousins abandoned the topic of which tribe had a testier delicacy between a monkey and a rodent, and reportedly embraced a plan to spend money that wasn’t theirs in the first place.
The duo didn’t want to work for the money and put the funds to private use by spending it on their children’s school fees, rental payments, shopping sprees and logistics for their own company.
DEC spokesperson Allan Tamba said via a statement that the two men have been charged with Theft under Section 272 of the Penal Code and Money Laundering under the Prohibition and Prevention of Money Laundering Act.
They have since been released on bond and are expected to appear in court soon.
“Members of the public are warned against engaging in activities which have potential to erode the nation’s moral fibre and undermine national development,”the statement read.
“The Drug Enforcement Commission is actively working with other agencies in order to ensure that offenders are subjected to the due process of the law. We hereby call upon all well meaning citizens to report suspicious activities to Law Enforcement Agencies so that through collective action, we can effectively prevent, detect and combat crime.”
By Catherine Pule
Kalemba
