By MARISA MWAPE –
A PASTOR in Kitwe has been sentenced to 18 months imprisonment for formulating a fake value added tax (VAT) registration number.
Magistrate Daniel Musonda jailed Rodrick Kapungwe, 45, a pastor at Rise and Shine Ministries after he found him guilty of formulating a VAT registration number 10371411/33.
Kapungwe acquired the fake number between April and October this year after Bruce Chileshe asked him to obtain a VAT certificate from Zambia Revenue Authority (ZRA).
In October, this year, Mr Chileshe decided to verify the authenticity of the document was by checking with ZRA but to his surprise, discovered it was fake.
He was advised to report the matter to the Police and Kapungwe was arrested.
In mitigation Kapungwe asked for leniency from the court because he was on Anti-Retroviral (ARV) treatment and was a father of seven children who looked up to him for survival.