ACB Cautioned on Using Insufficient Evidence In Graft Cases
The country’s graft busting body, the Anti-Corrution Bureau (ACB) has been cutioned against what is described as continued implication of innocent prominent individuals in staged corruption cases only aimed to defame them politically.
The caution comes in the wake of some names being mentioned in relation to the alleged corrupt syndicates in the procurement of government goods and services involving the businessman, Zunneth Sattar who is standing trial in United Kingdom (UK).
The Alliance for Democracy (AFORD) president, Enoch Chihana made caution saying it is very sad to note that some names being mentioned alleged to be on Sattar’s list are of those who have never hold any public office to substantiate their cases.
Speaking in an exclusive interview at his new residence in Chimaliro Township in Mzuzu City, Chihana stated that poor Malawians should prepare to pay some of those whose names are being mentioned as they will likely sue government for character assassination and defamation.
“The ACB rushes to arrest people just to please a certain fraction of political masters, otherwise providing tangible evidence still remain a far fetched dream, if not properly handled then am afraid the poor people of this country will continue paying those being defamed or their characters being assassinated,” Chihana said.
The AFORD leader continued by giving an example of the former president, Bakili Muluzi’s K1.4 billion case which he said has now takèn 17 years in court just because the state has lost direction in the trial which he said was politically driven but had no facts to prove it.
He also expressed worry with continued destruction of the country’s reputation to the prospective foreign investors who are only fed with negative reporting when youths in the country are still waiting for the 1million jobs promised by the Tonse Alliance during 2019/2020 elections.
Meanwhile, the UK-based businessman Zuneth Sattar has denied any allegation that he bribed government officials inorder to be awarded contracts in Malawi.
Sattar told the Times of London that he is not corrupt and that his fate is in the hands of God adding that he is hated in Malawi and that the whole country has turned against him for among others allegedly inflating prices of drinks and other goods supplied to the government.
The Times of UK also reported that the National Crimes Agency (NCA) has obtained freezing orders against Sattar’s properties he owns together with his wife in Leicestershire and Greater Manchester through a company registered in the UK.
“Other records link him to properties in Dubai,” reads a report published by The Times in the UK. Sattar is yet to be charged but he is on bail and is not allowed to leave the country.
According to the Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB) in Malawi, between 2017 and 2021, Malawi Police Service and Malawi Defence Force awarded 16 contracts worth over US$150 million (over K150 billion) to five companies owned by Zuneth Sattar.
The items supplied include military vehicles for the Malawi Defence Force and food ration packs for Malawi Police Service.
It is alleged that to make sure the deals sail through, the businessperson bribed 53 public officers and 31 individuals in the private sector the allegation which vehemently Sattar has denied.
“I am innocent of any wrongdoing and I want to be charged so I can fight it and win,” he said.
On Sunday, at least six Civil Society Organisations (CSOs) ganged up calling upon those named in the Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB) report related to alleged corrupt dealings, including Vice-President Saulos Chilima, to voluntarily step aside and pave the way for investigations.
ACB submitted a report to President Lazarus Chakwera who announced on Tuesday that 84 individuals, including Chilima, are implicated in alleged corrupt dealings with United Kingdom-based business person Zunneth Sattar.
