ACB, ASSANI DIFFER ON KASAMBARA

The Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB) has contradicted their line minister that it has imposed a restriction on former minister of Justice Ralph Kasambara from selling his alleged 12 houses in Mzuzu.

Minister of Justice Fahad Assani said in a telephone interview with Weekend Nation on Monday that the ACB had made a restriction on Kasambara on suspicion that the houses in question were connected to the ongoing Cashgate investigations.

“I am aware that there is a restriction on Mr. Kasambara not to proceed to sell 12 of his houses in Mzuzu because they are suspected to be connected to the investigations,” said Assani. “But speak to the ACB for more details.”

But Kasambara disputed this yesterday, saying he does not own any house in Mzuzu.

The ACB on Thursday also denied knowledge of what Assani said in its response to our questionnaire.

Our questionnaire clearly indicated that the information had already been confirmed on record by their minister.

“The Anti-Corruption Bureau has not made any restriction on the sale of Mr. Kasambara’s property,” wrote ACB spokesperson Egrita Ndala in a brief response.

But Assani on Friday insisted on knowing that the property in question was under investigation.

He said: “If that is what they are saying, it is fine. They are the ones who are on the issue. But I have information that the said property is subject of an investigation.”

Kasambara yesterday dismissed any suggestion connecting him to any sale of his houses.

“I know that Fahad Assani and JB [Joyce Banda] are busy campaigning against me through lies,” said Kasambara .“By the way, I have no house in my name in Mzuzu. And no one has approached me for the sale of my houses.”

All this comes hot on the heels of Assani warning Malawians against buying property from those connected to government.

He sounded the warning in Weekend Nation of October 19 2013 which quoted him as telling Malawians to desist from buying real property and vehicles “from civil servants you suspect cannot afford that kind of property”.

“Because if they buy and it is later discovered that that house or vehicle was out of stolen money, then they stand to lose out,” Assani is quoted as saying.

In the article, Assani is quoted as saying that “civil servants who will claim that their property is out of businesses they do, then the Malawi Revenue Authority will have to come in to prove that they have been paying tax.”

“President Joyce Banda is looking at a possibility of 100 percent recovery and forfeiture of all property coming as a result of this looting,” said Assani, according to that edition of Weekend Nation.

Assani succeeded Kasambara after the latter was relieved of his duties as minister of Justice in a Cabinet reshuffle that came immediately after the Cashgate unravelled on the heels of the shooting of former budget director Paul Mphwiyo.

Since then things have apparently fallen apart between the administration and Kasambara who is currently on bail on allegations of attempted murder of Mphwiyo and money laundering.

The private practice lawyer, an independent parliamentary candidate in Nkhata Bay, denies the allegations, calling them “merely a smear campaign against him.”