No rift between investigation units says ACC

Anti-Corruption Commission acting director general, Roswin Wandi says more arrests are expected and additional charges will be effected on Ministry of Health employees suspected to be involved in the alleged theft of K27 billion. She says the inquiry has recorded substantial progress that will result in more arrests and additional charges.

Speaking at a press briefing in Lusaka June 4 Wandi says the nothing will divert the attention of investigative team from getting to the root cause of the financial scam.
She advised members of the public to desist from making statements that are likely to be prejudicial to the investigations and added that people with information relevant to the inquiry should present it to the three enforcement agencies.

She said the joint command is confident that, with the input of all the law enforcement agencies, the inquiry will be handled professionally to its logical conclusion and also added that contrary to some media reports, there is no division among the three law enforcement agencies in the manner the inquiry is being managed.
Wandi said the management of the joint inquiry is saddened by a report in The Post newspapers regarding assertions of frustrations among ACC officers in the manner the investigations at the Ministry of Health are progressing.

“Following this report, we wish to clarify that this is a joint investigations by the DEC, ACC and Zambia Police Service and there is no division among law enforcement organs in the manner this inquiry is being managed. Whatever the source referred to as hijacking the inquiry is not correct as all agencies have responsibilities within their mandate. Therefore, no single agency can lay claim to the inquiry and it is not correct to talk about officers when it is one or two disgruntled individuals,” she said.

Wandi said all the three enforcement organs are working together and that all officers are taking part in the joint briefings and will continue to operate in that manner. However, she warned officers on the inquiry to observe standing instructions on communication of information through established channels. She said any information on the investigation will be released through the joint command post.

She said the Zambia Police Service has been selected to issue statements in consultation with other two law enforcement agencies on the investigations.
Wandi warned officers who will be found releasing irresponsible statements to the media will be dealt with accordingly.

And Commissioner of Police, Graphael Musamba says all dockets that will arise from the investigations will be forwarded to the Director of Public Prosecutions for quality control. He said dockets that will arise from the investigations will be handed over to the DDP before the joint investigative team can proceed with the cases.

Musamba dismissed media reports that former permanent secretary in the Ministry of Health, Simon Miti has been arrested or detained by the police.
“Nothing of this sort has happened. Rather he was just brought in for questioning and should anything be decided on him, the public will be informed,” he said.