Kitwe Pastor Jailed 12 Years For Forgery

The Kitwe Magistrate’s Court has jailed a 45-year-old pastor of Rise and Shine Ministries in Kitwe 12 months for uttering a false value added tax (VAT) certificate.
Roderick Kapungwe of Kitwe’s Kawama township was charged with two counts of making and uttering false documents.
Kapungwe admitted making a VAT certificate without lawful authority, but denied the second charge of uttering a false document.
Kapungwe, between April and October last year in Kitwe, uttered a false VAT certificate number 10371411/33 to Bruce Chileshe.
In his judgment, Kitwe senior resident magistrate Daniel Musonda said the state had proved the case against Kapungwe beyond reasonable doubt.
He granted Kapungwe leave to appeal to the High Court within 14 days.
During trial, Zambia Revenue Authority (ZRA) manager Clement Samboko, 42, testified that he was on duty when he received a query from Mr Chileshe concerning a VAT certificate.
He testified that Mr Chileshe wanted to know whether the VAT certificate that was given to him was genuine.
The court heard that Mr Samboko discovered that the VAT certificate was forged.
He testified that he reported the matter to the police and Kapungwe was arrested.