By Patson Chilemba
A Daily Revelation investigation has exposed Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) lies that all the 18 Ministry of Finance (MoF) officials that were arrested in the ministry’s corruption scandal were suspended.
In August 2024, Daily Revelation sent a query to the acting ACC Director General, Monica Mwansa, over information that very senior officials in the MoF had been frustrating ACC investigations and that some had actually returned to work after been issued with immunities.
Responding to that query, ACC spokesperson Timothy Moono claimed the Commission had recommended the suspension of the 18 arrested officials and that “none of these officers have returned to work as they are serving suspensions.”
“No immunity has been granted to any of the arrested persons. Since this case has been in public domain and attracted public interest, the outcome of the investigations will be communicated in due course,” stated Moono, at that time.
But Daily Revelation has since established that Barabina Mporokoso, a director in the same Audit Department where most of the arrests were made has returned to work in office number 087 on the second floor.
This has been confirmed by personal accounts of other officials at MoF as well as video evidence.
Another official who is said to have attempted to bribe the whistleblower with K5000, Dr Patrick Chanda, to stop him from giving account of the alleged corruption, already confirmed to Daily Revelation that he was still working.
The presence in the ministry of officials who were arrested by the ACC has sent fears of evidence tempering, and that the same had made a mockery of the probe against them, with the Commission being accused of engaging in child’s play over a very serious national matter of public interest.
“It should tell you about the nature of the so-called investigative wings you have in this country that they can go to the extent of lying about a so-called investigation which is actually non-existent and has never seen the light of day since it actually started,” said one of the sources. “And then you wonder why the ACC and other investigative wings are a laughing stock and actually engaged in the same actual corruption by covering up corruption. This is the same ACC operating under an administration that claims to have employed a zero tolerance to corruption.”
Whistleblower, Grandy Ntumbo, who served as principal internal auditor – Forensic Audit Unit at MoH, had complained to then ACC director general Thom Shamakamba of the presence of one investigator, Ferguson Kombe in the commission who allegedly urged him to drop the MoF case.
In a letter dated February 11, 2023 to Shamakamba and seen by Daily Revelation, Ntumbo complained about Kombe for allegedly urging him to drop the case he reported over the US$25 million in which the suspects benefited from fictitious activities.
He complained that the same Kombe had failed to arrest Dr Chanda
However, the ACC dismissed the assertions in response to a query sent to them by Daily Revelation on the matter.
Moono stated that at no time did their officer engage the whistleblower not to report the alleged K5000 paid to him by his colleague.
He stated that the matter was actually received by the commission and investigated to the fullest whereupon the suspect was arrested
