JACKSON, Mississippi — A federal judge has delayed the sentencing of former Jackson Mayor Chokwe A. Lumumba, who pleaded guilty in connection with a federal bribery case, resetting the hearing for November 20, 2026, WJTV reported on Tuesday, October 27.
Source: WJTV
U.S. District Judge Daniel P. Jordan III postponed the sentencing, according to WJTV. Lumumba and his counsel must still appear in court on November 5, 2026, even though the sentencing itself will now take place on November 20. Jackson Jambalaya, the Jackson news site, independently reported the same day that Judge Jordan had postponed Lumumba's sentencing.
Source: Jackson Jambalaya via Spot On Mississippi
A sentencing date that has already moved twice
This is not the first time the date has moved. WLBT reported earlier in October that Judge Jordan had already moved the sentencing from October 15 to November 5, and that Lumumba's attorneys then filed a motion to continue the sentencing in U.S. District Court. That filing was submitted under seal and is not available on PACER, the federal courts' public database, and Judge Jordan had granted a request on September 29 to allow the defence filings to be made under seal, WLBT reported.
Source: WLBT
Lumumba pleaded guilty on July 6, 2026, at the Thad Cochran Federal Courthouse in Jackson to one count of conspiracy to commit bribery, wire fraud and money laundering, the Mississippi Free Press reported. In exchange for the plea, the government dropped three more significant charges that carried a maximum penalty of up to 75 years in prison, the Free Press reported. Assistant U.S. Attorney David Fulcher said at the July 6 plea hearing that the federal government intends to seek restitution in the case.
Source: Mississippi Free Press
The FBI sting behind the case
The case grew out of a federal sting. Investigators said a group of federal agents posing as real estate developers approached Lumumba, then-Hinds County District Attorney Jody Owens and other Jackson-area officials in 2023, offering cash bribes in exchange for helping a convention-centre hotel project along in the city's bidding process, the Mississippi Free Press reported. Investigators accused Lumumba of ordering a shortening of the bidding window in exchange for cash payments. Reporting on the indictment put the amount tied to Lumumba at $50,000 in campaign donations, and the Northside Sun reported that his campaign account held a balance of just $465.30 before he deposited the $50,000 in disguised developer checks.
Source: Northside Sun
Across the whole scheme, a combined $190,000 in bribes passed through the defendants' hands, the Northside Sun reported. When federal agents raided Owens' office in May 2024, they found $9,900 of the agents' marked cash hidden inside a hollowed-out book titled "The Constitution of the United States of America," the paper reported, and former Ward 2 Councilwoman Angelique Lee was reported to have used an FBI credit card at a luxury boutique to buy Valentino wedge sandals, a Christian Louboutin tote bag and Golden Goose sneakers.
Former Hinds County District Attorney Jody Owens pleaded guilty first, on June 29, and Lumumba and former Ward 6 Councilman Aaron Banks pleaded guilty a week later, the Northside Sun reported. WLBT reported that Owens and Banks had not filed their own motions to continue as of early October, that Lee is slated to be sentenced on November 13, and that no sentencing date had been set for businessman Sherik Marve Smith, a fourth person who pleaded guilty in the scheme.
Disbarred while he waits to be sentenced
While the criminal case moved, Lumumba also lost his law licence. The Mississippi Supreme Court permanently revoked it on October 15, after the Mississippi Bar Association filed a motion on August 3 asking the court to accept his irrevocable resignation, the Mississippi Free Press reported. Under the order written by presiding Justice Josiah Dennis Coleman, Lumumba must inform all of his clients and relevant courts of his disbarment and properly disburse trust funds within 30 days, and file an affidavit confirming he has done so within 45 days. His disbarment was both immediate and permanent, the Free Press reported. Lumumba could not be reached for comment.
Lumumba is the son of the elder Chokwe Lumumba, a civil rights attorney and activist who served as a Jackson city councilman and as mayor from 2013 until his death in 2014. The younger Lumumba was elected mayor in his own right in 2017 and won re-election in 2021, but as the case lingered he lost his bid for a third term in the Democratic primary to John Horhn, who became Jackson's current mayor in the summer of 2025, the Mississippi Free Press reported.
What happens next
Lumumba and his counsel appear in court on November 5, and his sentencing is now set for November 20, 2026, before Judge Jordan. On his guilty plea he faces up to five years in prison, a fine of up to $250,000 and three years of supervised release, and must pay a $100 special assessment, WLBT reported. Lee's sentencing is slated for November 13. The November 20 hearing will decide how much of that maximum the former mayor of Mississippi's capital city actually serves.