Request of investigation to ACC against Minister of Defence Ambrose Lufuma, ZNS Commander Lt Gen Maliti Solochi and Deputy Commander Maj Gen Reuben Mwewa, as well as the ZCCM-IH Board of Directors By an official letter dated 11 May 2025, as President of ZCCM Defense, I requested the Anti-Corruption Commission to investigate the suspicious conducts of Zambia National Service and Zambian Army.

1.
Indeed, we have been informed by high-placed Zambians that the Zambia National Service has illegally diverted and operates ZCCM-IH’s Mushe Milling mill without any authorisation for more than a year.

Where does the produced mealie meal go ? What is happening there ? The price of mealie mill is astronomical and continues to raise… Are high ranking military officers involved in speculation to line their own pockets ? Who is making money off of the
Shareholders of ZCCM-IH with Mushe Milling ? Many unanswered questions…

The Army’s takeover of the mill is highly fraudulent ; everything is hidden, even though ZCCM-IH is the sole owner and legal operator of Mushe Milling.Beyond the major risk of misappropriation due to the opacity of the operations, the takeover by the armed wing of the Zambian state of one of the assets of a company listed on various international Stock Exchanges is totally illegal.

What is most surprising is that the Management of ZCCM-IH did not inform the Shareholders during the last AGM that the Company was being defrauded. We also requested the Commission to launch investigations at ZCCM-IH to find out who had an interest
in censoring this information and who the accomplices within ZCCM-IH are.

2.
At the time of the closure of the Kasenseli gold mine, which according to Mines Minister Paul Kabuswe was to last just one month, the Zambia National Service and Zambian Army were responsible for guarding the mine. Yet the fences were strangely ransacked and Jerabos have mined gold. Worse still, the Zambian army was even accused of mining the gold during the long
years of closure according to testimonials on social networks. In response to the uproar and accusations, three ZNS officers were fired for illegal gold mining (1)

We pointed out the many suspicious acts at Kasenseli in our press release. “What is going on at Kasenseli gold mine ? Who is harming ZCCM-IH and Zambia’s interests ?” (3)

3.
Last year, the Press has reported that the ACC was investigating the Zambia Army and Ministry of Defense for corruption and money laundering over a payment of US$5.3 million to kenyan DLS (2).

4.
It seems that there is a lot of malpractice linked to the Army. This is why, to safeguard the interests of ZCCM-IH shareholders, I requested the Commission to launch thorough investigations against Minister of Defense Ambrose Lufuma, ZNS Commander Lt Gen Maliti Solochi and deputy Commander Maj Gen Reuben Mwewa, as well as against ZCCM-IH’s Board of Directors, which is strangely turning a blind eye to this spoliation, is flouting the rules of listed companies and is not acting to defend the interests of the Company and its shareholders.

Issued by :
Thierry CHARLES
President of ZCCM Defense
14 May 2025, FRANCE
[email protected]

(1) https://www.lusakatimes.com/2023/03/01/zns-officers-fired-for-illegal-gold-mining-at-
kasenseli/
(2) https://zambianobserver.com/acc-is-investigating-the-zambia-army-and-ministry-of-defence-
for-corruption-and-money-laundering-over-a-payment-of-us5-3-million/
(3) https://www.lusakatimes.com/2023/11/12/what-is-going-on-at-kasenseli-gold-mine/