By SARAH MWANZA –
FOUR people, among them a depot manager, have been arrested in connection with the theft of farming inputs under the Farmer Input Support Programme (FISP) worth more than K530,000 in Rufunsa District.
About 1,700 bags of Compound D fertiliser worth more than K350,000 and maize seed worth K185,480 were recently stolen from a storage facility in Rufunsa District.
The subsidised inputs under FISP were stolen at a depot in Rufunsa before being accessed by small-scale farmers.

. Kajoba

Lusaka Province Police Chief Lemmy Kajoba told the Sunday Times that investigations have revealed that the depot manager, Lucas Mabuya Njovu, 57, allegedly connived with the owner of the building to steal the consignment.
Mr Kajoba named the other suspects as Samson Chisonga, 34, the owner of the warehouse in which the inputs were being kept as well as 31-year-old Chongwe businessman, Mukosha Musonda and his counterpart only identified as Chafunga, 31.
It is understood that Chisonga and Njovu stole the commodity and went to sell it to Mr Musonda and Mr Chafunga in Chongwe.
Mr Musonda and Mr Chafunga were arrested earlier in the week while the depot manager and the owner of the building were apprehended on Friday and all of them are currently detained at Chongwe Police Station.
“Police in Chongwe have finally arrested four people in connection with the theft of fertiliser and seeds which occurred between November and December, 20, 2014 in Rufunsa.
“I must say that police has intensified investigations in order to see to it that all those involved in the theft were brought to book,” Mr Kajoba said.
The Government’s subsidised fertiliser is believed to have been stolen together with 3,312 X 10 kilogrammes of maize seeds valued at K185,480 which were kept at a depot in the newly created district.
The suspected theft was discovered during the audit of the Chinyunyu Multi-purpose Cooperative, which is one of the farmers’ organisations that failed to access the missing inputs.