swaziland times

Mbabane – A Zambian national who was arrested at the Ngwenya border gate after he was found in possession of over 125,000 Egyptian pounds is wanted in his home country.

According to Zambian publications, Henry Shula Kasolo is the nephew of the late President Michael Sata and the brother of former Zambian minister Chanda Kasolo.
In his home country, Henry is wanted by police and faces criminal charges for the discovery of 204.7 kilograms of marijuana at the Cargo Village at Kenneth Cottager International Airport on May 14, 2024. Allegedly, this isn’t the first time Henry has been arrested for drug trafficking.

He has been arrested before in different countries for the same crime. He was accused of smuggling heroin from Zambia to the United States. In Swaziland, Henry was charged with violating the Money Laundering and Terrorism Financing Act of 2011. He is alleged to have committed the offence on June 21, 2024. The prosecution has obtained an order under the Prevention of Organised Crime Act (POCA) to secure the Egyptian pounds 125,050 found in his possession at the Ngwenya border gate. In their application, the prosecution informed the court that they had reason to believe that the money was obtained through ill-gotten gains.

wanted

The court heard Henry is currently wanted by police in his home country and faces charges of drug trafficking and exporting. In an application under the Proceeds of Crime Act to retain the money, lead prosecutor Elsie Matsebula insisted Henry’s explanations about the source of the cash and its intended use were fabricated.
He allegedly told police officers who captured him at the border that the money came from payments from the Democratic Republic of Congo, where he sold maize meal and received cash for it. He claimed he never deposited the cash but carried it all the way from Congo.

According to Matt Cebula, when questioned, Henry told police he was a director of Endora Investments, which had a warehouse next to the Sandton factory. He also allegedly claimed that he was picked up at the Ngwenya border gate by a man called Melusi Matsebula who was sent by Hector Sifiso Ndlandla. The prosecution said Henry claimed in his statement that he had met Ndlanla before and wanted to buy sugar from him (Ndlanla).

Matsebula told the court that after Henry’s arrest, Zambian law enforcement contacted the Royal Swaziland Police Service (REPS). They wanted Henry to be charged in Zambia for drug trafficking and smuggling. The Chief Prosecutor stressed that the Zambian authorities said their investigations revealed that the cannabis found on May 14, 2024 at the Cargo Village at Kenneth Kaunda International Airport allegedly belonged to him.“Henry Casolo’s explanations regarding the source and intended use of the cash were allegedly fabricated. Casolo was in the business of drug dealing, smuggling and exporting,” the chief prosecutor said.
She further claimed that Henry Thoreau did not provide any documentation to support his statements.

“Furthermore, it is neither possible nor realistic for Kasoro to carry cash from the DRC and bring it to Swaziland. “Kasolo resides in the Republic of South Africa and he claims to be a businessman. Both South Africa and Swaziland have functioning banking sectors,” she argued. Matsebula told the court that legitimate businessmen avail themselves of banks and the banking system.

evidence

“There are reasonable grounds to believe that the money is the proceeds of unlawful activity. I would like to point out that while the evidence at this stage indicates that the property is the proceeds of unlawful activity, the investigation is ongoing and it is possible that more evidence of different crimes will be uncovered,” said Matesbula. She said that if such evidence is indeed uncovered, it will be included in the documents supporting the confiscation application or in any necessary supplementary documents. “Financial investigators are still waiting for files from the Zambian police on Kasoro and investigations being conducted in Zambia,” Matsebula asserted.

She pointed out that this was one of the reasons why the application could not be submitted earlier because the documents had not yet been received. She said she had ensured that REPS would receive the email. Judge Bongikhosi Magagula ordered the preservation of €125,050 found on Henry. The prosecution was represented by Jarmila Piposiarova from the Office of the Attorney General.