A Zambian court on Thursday sentenced former foreign minister Joseph Malanji to four years in prison with hard labour after finding him guilty of corruption.

Malanji, who served under ex-president Edgar Lungu between 2018 and 2021, was arrested in late 2021 over allegations that he used embezzled state funds to acquire luxury property, including two Bell 420 helicopters.

Delivering the judgment, Magistrate Ireen Wishimanga acknowledged pleas for leniency but said the gravity of the offences could not be overlooked.

“I have heard the spirited mitigation by counsel and taken note that the convicts are first offenders and are entitled to leniency,” Wishimanga said. “However, the 60-year-old will serve four years imprisonment with hard labour.”

Malanji’s co-accused, Fredson Yamba, a former secretary to the treasury, was sentenced to three years in prison. He was accused of facilitating the transfer of more than $8 million to Zambia’s mission in Turkey without proper justification.

It remains unclear whether the pair will appeal the ruling.

The convictions represent a rare win for Zambian state prosecutors, in a country that Transparency International ranked among the world’s most corrupt in its 2024 perception index.

Malanji and Yamba were the first senior officials from Lungu’s administration to face trial under President Hakainde Hichilema, who took office in 2021 vowing to fight graft.

Despite such high-profile prosecutions, critics argue that Hichilema’s anti-corruption drive has been slow and inconsistent, while poverty remains widespread. More than 64 percent of Zambia’s population lives below the poverty line, despite the nation’s vast copper resources.