The Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB) is set to arrest high-profile figures previously implicated in corruption scandals, The Nation has established.
Three sources within ACB confirmed in separate interviews on Monday and yesterday that the bureau has over “the past few months” been reviewing case files and secured “substantial evidence” against some former senior government officials in the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) administration for alleged corrupt practices during their time in office.
Some incumbent members of Parliament (MPs) will also fall into the ACB net as soon as Parliament rises from the Budget Meeting currently underway, our sources confided.
In a written response to our questionnaire, ACB acting director general Hilary Chilomba, while refusing to share names involved and the nature of cases, confirmed the looming arrests.
“It is worth noting that our investigative function is undertaken under strict confidentiality and we cannot be playing this role through the media. [But] it is not long before the so-called big fish will be caught in the nets and brought ashore. We are independent and not afraid of anyone,” he said.
ACB’s planned action comes barely a week after some MPs, during cluster meetings where they discuss budget allocations, raised concerns about the bureau’s dormancy on corruption when it appeared before the Legal Affairs and Government Assurance Cluster.
At the hearing, some members, who included Mchinji South legislator Agnes Nkusa Nkhoma (Malawi Congress Party) and Mangochi Malombe MP Mussa Kapichila (United Democratic Front), wondered why ACB was silent amidst reports of corruption.
In response to the MPs, in this meeting, Chilomba said they do not make arrests for the sake of it, but are driven by evidence and the law.
Even Leader of Opposition George Chaponda (DPP), responding to the State of the Nation Address three weeks ago, also accused the current leadership of “trying to install a puppet ACB director to ensure the bureau remains toothless”.
But Chilomba said the bureau is not dormant—only that his strategy is to gather evidence first before pouncing on suspects.
He added: “Let me also state that we have seen, previously, cases where individuals were arrested and their cases are not going anywhere. My strategy is that by the time anybody is arrested, the bureau is completely ready to move to the next stage of prosecution without any break or delays, occasioned by my office. If there are delays they should be external to the bureau.”
Asked whether it has crossed his mind that with the arrests coming six months before the September 16 General Election some people might consider them politically-driven, Chilomba dismissed such thinking in his response to The Nation, reiterating that the bureau works based on the law.
“I am not guided by emotions, ill minds or intentions, but by the law. Furthermore, we are independent in our operations, which [parliamentarians] must respect and cannot tell us what and when to do or act,” he added.
Our well-placed sources within ACB confided in us that in the past few months, the bureau has been reviewing some files and has amassed “substantial evidence” against those targeted for arrests.
Possible offences, we are informed, range from misuse of public office and corrupt practices, which they said may change depending on the ongoing analysis of files and investigations.
In an interview yesterday, Human Rights Defenders Coalition chairperson Gift Trapence backed the ACB’s plan, saying justice has no time to be administered.
He said the bureau should not be worried with narratives that may brand their arrests as politically motivated so long there is merit in the cases pursued.
“We have had tendency of politicians hiding behind narratives that their arrests are politically motivated. It is important to take note that politicians are not above the law, as such, they should be answerable to the law anytime regardless of whether there are elections or not.”
“In this case, the bureau should arrest and prosecute any politician from the DPP administration as long they have evidence to do that. The arrests of people should not be based on public perception, but rather they should stand on the side of the law,” observed Trapence.
But Centre for Social Accountability and Transparency executive director Willy Kambwandira said the bureau’s planned arrests do not inspire confidence, alleging that there is political interference in ACB operations.
DPP spokesperson Shadric Namalomba was not immediately available for comment yesterday.
Previously, under the leadership of former director general Martha Chizuma, the bureau arrested several high profile individuals serving in the current administration on corruption allegations.
These included former vice-president Saulos Chilima, former minister of Lands Kezzie Msukwa, former minister of Energy Newton Kambala and Inspector General of Police George Kainja, among others.
After Chizuma’s departure, the bureau has not made any serious moves against top political figures.
