Senzani faces fresh arrest
Cashgate convict Tressa Senzani, released on Thursday after serving time for misusing government funds, faces a fresh arrest on another corruption—related case.
A senior ACB source, speaking on condition of anonymity, said yesterday the new case is related to money which Senzani is suspected to have fraudulently obtained while working in the Department of National Parks and Wildlife.
The ACB has been investigating Senzani on the new charges, said the source, and on several occasions went to interrogate her while she was in prison.
ACB deputy director general Reyneck Matemba confirmed yesterday that the probe is at an advanced stage but could not elaborate on the details of the new case.
“The investigations are at an advanced stage,” Matemba said, “but we wouldn’t want to disclose for fear of jeopardising progress and what remains to be done.”
Matemba added: “We would not want to divulge more about Mrs. Senzani for fear of being seen as if we are targeting her or persecuting her after she has served her sentence, more especially when one considers the fact that there are a lot other cases that are dragging out there and the culprits still enjoying their freedom and their ill-gotten wealth.”
Senzani has served two of the three-year sentence for theft after she pleaded guilty to misusing K63.5 million from the government through her private company, Visual Impact. The money was fraudulently deposited into her personal account.
The K63.5 million was part of the K24 billion which forensic auditors Baker Tilly said could not be accounted for between April and September, 2013.
Senzani’s mansion at 6 miles in Lilongwe has been a bone of contention with commentators arguing that it should be confiscated from her as proceeds of crime.
However, Matemba said investigations were conducted into how she constructed the house and findings showed it was not related to Cashgate.
Earlier this year, The Nation discovered that the State planned to use a statement recorded from Senzani in which she fingered former president Joyce Banda and former budget director Paul Mphwiyo as the master minders of Cashgate.
The statement is expected to be used in the case in which Mphwiyo and 19 others are facing several counts, among them, theft and money laundering K2.4 billion.
However, while confirming that indeed Senzani was under ACB investigations, Matemba refused to disclose details of the investigations.
