Victor Nyasulu’s journey has taken him from opposition politics into the UPND government, through the troubled leadership of Zambia’s medicines supply agency and into a corruption trial. Now, after another election, his story illustrates the sometimes-blurred lines between politics, public appointments and accountability in Zambia.
By Linda Soko Tembo
Nyasulu’s public life has rarely followed a straight line.
A chartered accountant by profession, he has moved between opposition politics, the ruling United Party for National Development (UPND), senior public appointments and back into opposition politics.
Along the way, he became Director General of the Zambia Medicines and Medical Supplies Agency (ZAMMSA), lost that position amid turmoil at the agency and was subsequently arrested and charged over procurement decisions made during his tenure.
He denies wrongdoing and, together with three other former public officials, has pleaded not guilty to corruption-related charges arising from ZAMMSA’s 2023–2024 procurement of medicines and medical supplies.
With Zambia’s 13 August 2026 election now over, Nyasulu’s story is no longer simply about his political ambitions. It is also about the complicated intersection between politics, public appointments and accountability.
From Zambia We Want to UPND
Nyasulu’s political journey came to wider public attention in December 2020 when he joined the Zambia We Want movement.
Ahead of the 2021 general election, the movement entered into an alliance with the UPND. Under that arrangement, Nyasulu contested the Lusaka mayoral election on the UPND ticket. He came close.
Official Electoral Commission of Zambia results show that Patriotic Front candidate Chilando Chitangala won with 282,187 votes against Nyasulu’s 270,772 — a difference of 11,415 votes.
Nyasulu subsequently challenged Chitangala’s election.
After the 2021 elections, Zambia We Want left the UPND Alliance following disagreements over the implementation of alliance agreements.
Nyasulu, however, remained with the UPND.
He has explained that his decision was influenced partly by the public responsibilities he had been given by the new administration.
“I felt obligated to remain because I had been honoured by the government and entrusted with public responsibility,” Nyasulu has said.
Those appointments would eventually take him into one of Zambia’s most important — and troubled — public institutions.
Rise at ZAMMSA
In 2022, Nyasulu was appointed Commissioner at the Civil Service Commission, where he says he participated in the recruitment of more than 11,000 health workers.
His next appointment brought him closer to Zambia’s medicines supply chain.
On 17 April 2023, he was appointed Director of Finance at ZAMMSA. Within months, he rose to Acting Director General before being confirmed as Director General on 17 November 2023.
Nyasulu has defended his record at the agency, saying medicine availability improved from around 50 percent to between 78 and 80 percent during his leadership.
But his tenure coincided with serious problems at ZAMMSA.
MakanDay has previously investigated the agency’s 2023–2024 “mop-up” procurement exercise, launched to address shortages of essential medicines and medical supplies.
The procurement process, and decisions taken around it, would later become the subject of investigations and eventually criminal proceedings.
Nyasulu was removed from ZAMMSA in 2024.
His departure did not end the controversy surrounding his time at the agency.
From ZAMMSA Boss to Accused Person
Nyasulu is now standing trial before the Economic and Financial Crimes Court alongside former ZAMMSA Director of Supply Planning Nalishebo Siyandi, former Director of Procurement Habadu Nchimunya and former Ministry of Health official Dr John Kachimba.
The four have pleaded not guilty to seven corruption-related charges arising from ZAMMSA’s 2023–2024 mop-up procurement of essential medicines, medical supplies, anti-cancer medicines, adjuvants and reproductive health commodities.
The prosecution alleges, among other things, that contracts were irregularly approved, including a contract involving Lumumba Pharmaceuticals Limited despite allegations that the company submitted its bid after the invitation had closed.
Other allegations concern contracts involving Cube Pharmaceuticals, Yash Pharmaceuticals and VL Healthnet Limited.
Nyasulu and his co-accused deny the charges.
Their lawyers initially challenged the indictment, arguing that several counts were defective and failed to disclose essential ingredients of the alleged offences.
Magistrate Peter Mungala rejected that objection in June, ruling that the seven counts were sufficiently framed to inform the accused of the allegations they faced.
That ruling cleared the way for the prosecution to continue presenting its evidence.
What the Court Has Heard
The trial has since opened another window into the procurement processes that unfolded at ZAMMSA during and around Nyasulu’s tenure.
These are allegations and evidence being tested before the court. No finding of guilt has been made against Nyasulu or any of his co-accused.
The case took another turn in July when the court allowed prosecutors to introduce previously missing pages from an internal ZAMMSA investigation report.
The defence had opposed the application, questioning why the documents had not been produced earlier and arguing that their admission during the trial could prejudice the accused.
Magistrate Mungala allowed the documents to be disclosed, while giving the defence an opportunity to examine them.
The trial is scheduled to continue on 26, 27 and 28 August 2026.
Political Fallout
Nyasulu’s troubles at ZAMMSA also became intertwined with his political journey.
He eventually left the UPND, saying he had concluded that he was no longer welcome in the ruling party.
“A political party is like a private club. If you overstay your welcome, principles demand that you leave,” he has said.
He briefly returned to Zambia We Want, where he became Chairperson for Finance, before moving to Citizen First, led by Harry Kalaba.
But that relationship did not last either.
By the period leading up to the 2026 election, Nyasulu had also left Citizen First, adding another chapter to a political journey characterised by shifting alliances. He subsequently joined the National Reconciliation Party for Unity and Prosperity (NRPUP), which until recently was a member of the Tonse Pamodzi Alliance. Within the alliance, Nyasulu served as a member of the Lusaka Province presidential campaign team.
His political difficulties have at times intersected directly with law enforcement.
Nyasulu was previously detained by police after accompanying opposition politician Brian Mundubile to the Anti-Corruption Commission for questioning. Police described his alleged conduct at the time as likely to cause a breach of the peace.
“My integrity has been questioned, yes. I have been arrested and bonded, but I remain innocent until proven guilty by a competent court,” he has said.
A Career at the Intersection of Politics and Public Service
Nyasulu, who previously served as Chief Financial Officer of the now-liquidated Zambian Airways and Director of Finance at the Zambia National Broadcasting Corporation (ZNBC), has consistently presented himself as a servant leader whose politics are rooted in faith, integrity and public service.
“My ideology has never changed. I believe in serving my generation with integrity,” he says.
His critics and the prosecution case now place that claim under considerable scrutiny.
But the courts, not political opponents or supporters, will ultimately determine whether the allegations arising from his tenure at ZAMMSA amount to criminal wrongdoing.
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