Former Jackson Mississippi mayor faces years in prison after pleading guilty to bribery scheme
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Chokwe Antar Lumumba, who previously called the charges against him a form of “political prosecution,” lost his bid to win a third term as mayor of Jackson last November.
The former mayor of Mississippi‘s capital city is facing a lengthy prison sentence.
Chokwe Antar Lumumba, who lost his reelection bid last year by nearly 50 points in the Democratic primary runoff, pled guilty alongside former City Council President Aaron Banks to one count of conspiracy related to a bribery scheme connected to real estate development.
Former Hinds County District Attorney Jody Owens pled guilty last week to bribery charges, as did former Vice President of the City Council Angelique Lee and Sherik Marve Smith, a businessman and relative of Owens.
According to court documents, Owens met with two undercover FBI agents posing as Nashville real estate agents in November 2024, and took at least $115,00 from them. He then facilitated more than $80,000 in bribe payments to Banks, Lee and Lumumba in exchange for the trio giving the go-ahead for the development of a proposed downtown convention center hotel.
Prosecutors said Lumumba agreed to take $50,000 and have it disguised as five separate $10,000 campaign donation checks. In exchange, the development would be greenlit ahead of the city’s deadline, giving the developers an advantage over others. Banks also solicited $50,000 and accepted a $10,000 bribe in exchange for his City Council vote, according to prosecutors.
By pleading guilty, Banks, Lee and Lumumba could each face up to a maximum of five years in prison. The three were set to stand trial on federal charges stemming from a scandal that upended Lumumba’s tenure as mayor.
He rose to the city’s highest office in 2013, winning the mayoral race with 85 percent of the vote. A charismatic leader, Lumumba navigated a campaign where opponents amplified his history as a former member of a Black nationalist group. His two tenures as mayor were not without issues outside of the bribery scandal. In 2022, the city’s water system collapsed, leaving 150,000 city residents without working water. He also endured a garbage dispute with the City Council.
Still, Lumumba attempted to run for a third term last year but was soundly defeated in the primary runoff by current Jackson mayor John Horhn.