Fake COVID 19 certificates for international travellers

THE Livingstone magistrate's court has a-45-year hospital porter to 24 months imprisonment with hard labour for making three fake COVID-19 certificates for international travellers.
This is in case Moses Kambole of house number 27 Nakatindi Township, Livingstone, was charged with three counts of making a false documents by the police, however the charges were substituted by the court to forgery.
This was after the court analysed the ingredients of the case.

On February 15 and 16 this year in Livingstone, Kambole with the intention to defraud he made a forged three medical certificates for international travel, with serial numbers 05-0131944, 05-0131945 and 05-0151956, they were purporting to show that it was issued by ministry of health when in fact not.
And in sentencing Kambole, chief resident magistrate Exnobert Zulu said Kambole’s conduct is unacceptable as COVID 19 was deadly disease and he put a lot of people at risk of infections by forging the certificates because of greed.

He said his actions were against the government’s efforts of trying to save lives through its measures.

“It is unthinkable to realise that they are people who want to profit over COVID 19 and it is shocking.

It is difficult to think that they can people who would want put others at risk,” he said.

He said courts cannot condone such acts and people like him should learn to be responsible.

“You need to love mankind, even if you wanted to an income, you should not have resorted to such acts,” he said.

He said it is for this reason that he needs some time to reflect in prison.

“We need to create a safe environment, this offense makes you liable to three years imprisonment,” he said.

He said the legislatures even thought people like him would commit such offenses of endangering the lives of other people.

“You are entitled to leniency since you are a first offender. I hereby sentence you to 24 months imprisonment with hard labour. And the sentences will run concurrently, he said.

He said he is hopeful that 24 months would help him to reflect on his actions.

In mitigation through Legal Aid Board lawyer, Newton Tembo asked the court to leniency and was at the mercy of the court.

Mr Tembo said he is father of 10 children and a bread winner for the family.

And evidence before court is that a Botswana national only identified as John wanted COVID 19 certificates to travel back to his country.

He approached Kelvin Kabale, who linked with Kambole.

Kambole asked for a payment and promised to deliver the certificates.

The certificates were intercepted at Kazungula border control because the number for the southern province was nine and not five.

Police investigated the matter with the help of the ministry of health.

End