No time frame for Police probe—ACB

The Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB) has told human rights defenders that it cannot commit to a time frame regarding when investigations into the K2.7 billion Malawi Police Service (MPS) food rations scam would be completed and arrests effected.

ACB director general Reyneck Matemba indicated this position yesterday during a meeting with representatives of civil society organisations (CSOs).

The human rights defenders sought an update on progress relating to the investigations into the contract that saw the supplier, Pioneer Investments, making an abortive interest claim of K466 million and depositing K145 million into a Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) bank account at Standard Bank whose sole signatory is President Peter Mutharika.

Matemba said the bureau would not commit to a time frame during which arrests and prosecution would begin as demanded by the civil society.

He said the Corrupt Practices Act (CPA) allows the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) 30 days in which to give consent failing which, the law mandates the ACB to proceed with the prosecution.

Matemba said while he could not disclose progress on the case to the CSO leaders, the investigations were still ongoing because there were processes to be followed.

He said: “The report which leaked contained recommendations which have to be analysed by the Legal and Prosecutions Department to come up with a legal opinion which will dictate the way forward.”

Matemba said once the legal opinion is formulated, the ACB would have to seek consent from the DPP to arrest and prosecute.

But he assured the CSO members that the investigation remained a top priority of the bureau.

Said Matemba: “Investigations on this matter were authorised in November 2017, but actual investigations started on January 28 this year. By June 28, the report was compiled, which was a period of five months.

“This is unprecedented considering the large amounts that were involved in this case. This shows the bureau is very serious about getting to the bottom of this matter.”

He insisted that the investigations reflected the findings of the bureau and that no information discovered was tampered with in any manner.

Matemba also assured the CSOs of security of the files at ACB, including this particular investigation as a result of strict measures and off-shore storage of copies of all files that the institution is working on.

A leaked dossier, confirmed to have come from the ACB, implicated the President as the sole signatory of a bank account which received K145 million from Pioneer Investments, the company contracted to provide the rations to MPS.

The CSOs delegation included activists Gift Trapence, Reverend Macdonald Sembereka, Billy Mayaya, Ali Mwachande and Andrew Salima. They wanted the ACB boss to address their concerns which included the progress on investigations into the murder of ACB director Issa Njauju.

During the meeting, the CSOs took ACB to task for prioritising investigations into the leakage of the dossier, but not the actual scam and queried why the institution was failing to come out clear on whether arrests of the suspects mentioned in the report would be made.

But the ACB chief said the leakage in June this year was a breach of trust of those who helped the bureau in the investigation.

He said: “We have lost a lot of ground because of this leakage. The ACB is in breach of Section 51 and Section 54 of the Corrupt Practices Act. Now, we have to remedy this in whatever way we can.”

Section 51A of the CPA provides for protection of whistle blowers and other informers while Section 54 contains regulations on the prohibition of abuse of information obtained in official capacity.

Trapence, speaking on behalf of the CSOs, commended Matemba for his “honest and candid sharing of information” which had enlightened them.

He said: “He has assured us of professionalism and has promised a conclusion to the matter. We have received assurances that no one will be spared.”

On the Njauju murder investigation, Trapence said the CSOs would engage MPS who are handling the matter as well as the British High Commission which was requested to provide backup investigations through Scotland Yard.

In the wake of the leakage that linked Mutharika as a beneficiary, State House defended the President, saying the money was a donation to a DPP headquarters building project.

However, some commentators have also wondered how a commercial bank opened such an account for a grouping or association with a single signatory.n