ACC ARRESTS A/GENERAL …over MoF thefts
By Ernest Chanda
THE Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) has formerly arrested Accountant General Kennedy Musonda and slapped him with several charges.
Meanwhile, there was a fire in the audit department at the Ministrt of Finance yesterday.
After a quick intervention, LCC fire department director Robert Banda said the situation is under control.
“And we have left one officer, he’s Mr Kabungo, gathering details so that we can establish the cause of the fire. It is true there was a call, it is true fire brigade responded with two fire engines,” said Banda. “And after attending to it, the fire is under control. Completely under control. And the man who has remained is trying to establish the cause, what caused the fire.”
Musonda is among senior officials at the Ministry of Finance who are being investigated for theft of billions of kwacha.
This relates to theft that occurred in the ministry between 2019 and 2022.
According to sources close to the investigation, Musonda was arrested and detained on Tuesday but was later released on police bond.
“He spent almost the whole day at ACC and he was later arrested and charged with several offences. These include theft, willful failure to follow laid down procedure, and abuse of authority of office. Being a very senior person the ACC expected him to supervise issues of following payment procedures. That’s why you have seen that one of the charges relates to willful failure to follow procedure,” the source explained. “Two other people were charged on the same day. It appears the ACC has lined up nine people for arrests. Three were arrested yesterday, three are expected to be arrested today (Thursday), and three tomorrow (today) unless things change. But that is what has been lined up over this matter. You know, it is a serious matter of public interest. The international community which helps us with funding has been following this thing very keenly, so this has also put pressure on the new dawn government. They just have to act so that everything is normalised, especially that the President has affirmed his resolve to fight corruption.”
Sources said former secretary to the treasury Fredson Yamba and Director Investment and Debt Management Gregory Kabwe were also questioned and are expected to be formally charged by end of the week or so.
Asked about Musonda’s arrest, ACC director general Tom Shamakamba who could not deny or confirm said the nation shall be informed by Friday.
“On that one I am not going to speak, sorry. You will be informed. Remember when we were there what I said, I will have a date for you. Let us just do everything formal. I will call you just the way we have come… So for now I will not. I know you have news. You guys can dig deeper,” he said.
Shamakamba said he was tight-lipped on many investigations to avoid alerting targeted culprits.
“I will be sharing investigation data and alerting those people,” he said. “Just like on the Honeybee [issue] if I say ACC will rearrest you, you know the effect it has. Already there are two people in Lusaka who have bolted. I was even expecting you guys would question who has bolted. And those are the fears that we have. I am giving you a clue of these people who have bolted. They are from Lusaka City Council (LCC). I am sure now you know them. People have been complaining that we are just targeting the opposition. Now what we’ll give you will show you that I not selecting anybody.”
He said on Friday (today) he would update the nation on thee issue of the Accountant General in relation to the Ministry of Finance probe.
“But I know you have the information,” said Shamakamba. “…Yes he is a subject of investigations but he did not sleep in cells. As to those issues (arrest) we will come and deal with him. Let us just finish what we are doing. We will give you information that you want.”
On January 7, 2022, The Mast published a story in which new information emerged which revealed that about K533 million was looted from the Ministry of Finance and not K100 million as earlier reported by the same newspaper in August 2022.
On August 24, 2022, The Mast published a story where a Transparency International – Zambia investigation revealed that a cartel at Ministry of Finance siphoned money amounting to K100 million between 2019 and 2021 using fictitious events to draw allowances.
Corroborated evidence and information from whistleblowers within the ministry showed various names of officers in the Ministry of Finance.
At the time, names were withheld of people who had seemingly engaged in an intricate network of fictitious and organised activities.
According to the evidence, this loot seemed to be spreading tentacles to strategic ministries, commissions, and agencies.
And according to sources close to the investigation, MoF senior staff that included then secretary to the treasury Fredson Yamba, Accountant General Kennedy Musonda, controller of internal audit Chibwe Mulonda and assistant director internal audit David Kajokoto seemingly engaged in money laundering.
The sources explained that once funds were obtained from MoF’s Treasury Single Account (TSA) loans and investments – a special account that is dedicated to the Government of the Republic of Zambia (GRZ’s) repayment of loans including the Eurobond and financing of investments, the funds were transferred to the respective individuals’ bank accounts through Real Time Gross Settlement (RTGS) system.
Once this money was pulled into these peoples’ accounts it was then laundered into BoZ treasury bills through deposit accounts in order to conceal its nature and origin.
A follow-up investigation by The Mast revealed that in fact more than K1 billion was stolen from the national treasury in the last four years.
“For the recoveries that MoF instituted, that was a stunt meant to hoodwink the public and investigators. Actually, more than 200 civil servants were receiving fictitious allowances and fuel drawn without travelling. This is where most of this accumulated total is coming from. The recoveries that MoF are doing only relate to selected junior staff,” sources said.
Yamba and Musonda have since sued The Mast in the Lusaka High Court over these stories.