Lawyers representing two organizations, Forum for National Development (END) and Centre for Mindset Change (CMC) have written the Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB) demanding information on the status of the probe into Malawi Congress Party (MCP) general secretary, Eisenhower Mkaka’s corruption allegations.
Since 2022, ACB has been investigating Mkaka over the dubious purchase of a motor vehicle, a Mercedes that was allegedly thought to be a gift from businessman Zunneth Sattar.
In a letter dated April 2 2024, lawyer Stanley Chirwa of S&M Attorneys has given the ACB 14 working days to respond failing which they will take further steps, including legal action, under sections 15 and 18 of the Access to Information Act and other applicable laws.
In 2022, ACB director general Martha Chizuma said although the bureau was investigating the information bureau received which covers the period between March 2021 and October 2021, it took interest in the allegations against Mkaka.
She said: “We, however, need to clarify that the investigations that the bureau is currently conducting on Zunneth Sattar’s corruption allegations are largely based on information the bureau received which covers the period between March 2021 and October 2021.
“From the documents going around, we note that the transactions regarding this car took place in 2020. This is outside the period of the information.”
The ACB director general stressed that the bureau’s concern as per its mandate is not just whether one received gifts from Sattar but “concern is whether in so doing one acted corruptly”, adding that “only those who acted corruptly and breached any other written law will be taken to task”.
Chizuma, therefore, said the bureau’s mandate was to authenticate the documents that have gone viral.
“We also would like to clearly point out that as a bureau, the documents from which the public are getting details of this car need to be authenticated and this will form part of the investigation,” she said.
The documents linking Mkaka’s car allegedly from Malawi Revenue Authority (MRA), which we had not independently verified by press time, show that the vehicle, a Mercedes Benz 5350d L AMG, then with a registration number KT17OAO, was allegedly shipped to Malawi on June 26 2020 through Walvis Bay, Namibia.
The same type of vehicle allegedly appeared on the list Sattar was keeping. It was valued at 22 350 British pounds which is about K28 million at the current exchange rate.
The UK-based Sattar, arrested by the UK’s National Crime Agency (NCA), stands accused of corrupting government officials in exchange for multiple government contracts.
The car linked to Mkaka is said to have been cleared by MRA on August 21 2020.
