By Chisomo Phiri
The High Court on Monday rejected an application by the Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB) to discontinue corruption proceedings against convicted wildlife trafficker Lin Yun Hua, ruling that the State already has the legal authority to terminate the case without seeking the Court’s permission.
Lin is facing corruption charges over allegations that, while on remand at Maula Prison in 2019, he attempted to bribe prison officials to influence the outcome of his wildlife trafficking case.
According to court records, Lin allegedly offered K30 million in cash and promised to complete the construction of a house for a senior prison officer in exchange for assistance in securing a favourable outcome in his trial.
The ACB filed the application on June 9, 2026, saying it had received explicit instructions from Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) Fostino Maele to withdraw the case and sought the Court’s leave to discharge the accused.
However, in a ruling, High Court Judge Redson Kapindu dismissed the application, describing it as an abuse of the court process.
He said the State has both constitutional and statutory powers to discontinue criminal proceedings without the Court’s approval and should instead exercise those powers directly if it wishes to end the case.
Kapindu further observed that seeking the Court’s permission to achieve an outcome that the State can lawfully accomplish on its own amounted to an unnecessary use of judicial time and resources.
