By PERPETUAL SICHIKWENKWE –
FORMER Ministry of Health human resources development officer Henry Kapoko, has been convicted and sentenced to two and half years, for abuse of authority and corrupt practices.
Kapoko has been jailed along with Esu School of Nursing director and shareholder, Edwin Ushibantu who will equally serve a jail term of two and half years with hard labour.
Kapoko, between November 1, 2006 and May 31, 2009 in Lusaka, being an employee of the Ministry of Health, namely human resources development officer, abused his authority by committing Government to be paying for  the Ministry of Health employees studying at Esu School of Nursing without following laid down procedure as specified by the Public Service Management Division.
Kapoko, on the same dates, corruptly received K40, 000 from Ushibantu as gratification for facilitating the  enrolment and payment of tuition fees for the  Ministry of Health employees at Esu school of nursing.
Ushibantu in the third count, corruptly offered and gave Kapoko K40,000 as a reward for him to facilitate  illegal sponsorship of the  Ministry of Health staff to study at Esu.
Kapoko and Ushibantu denied the charges, but Lameck Ng’ambi sitting as Lusaka magistrate yesterday, jailed Kapoko to six months in the first count and two years in the second count.
The sentences which are effective from yesterday, will run concurrently meaning,  Kapoko will only serve two years.
Passing judgement yesterday, Mr Ng’ambi also ordered Kapoko to pay back the K40, 000  he was given as gratification while Ushibantu has been ordered to pay back K146,220 to the rightful owner of the money which is the Government of Zambia.
Mr Ng’ambi said he was jailing Kapoko and Ushibantu, because the offences they committed were serious and that, the custodial sentences would serve as a deterrent to other would be offenders.
He said Kapoko did not have authority to commit the Ministry of Health to pay for the employees because he was nowhere near the structure of the ministry employees  authorised to sign for such payments.
Mr Ng’ambi said the K40,000 which Kapoko claimed was paid to him for transportation services rendered to the school, was actually a gratification for the students he had taken to the nursing school.
Kapoko and Ushibantu had pleaded with the court to be lenient with them as they were first offenders.
Kapoko further submitted to the court that he was suffering from diabetes and once had a stroke.
He said that, he was looking after seven children with the youngest being six months old.
Kapoko still has about four more cases pending in other courts of law.