This month marks the second anniversary of a corruption task force set up by Zambian President Levy Mwanawasa to investigate the alleged improprieties of his predecessor, Frederick Chiluba. However, chances of the former leader being convicted on any of the charges seem increasingly remote.
Chiluba’s former head of intelligence, Xavier Chungu, former ambassador Attan Shasongo and other senior officials have also been accused of corrupt activities, such as theft from state coffers.
To date, the task force has been able to secure the conviction of one of Chiluba’s former press aides, Richard Sakala, an unpopular journalist who was sentenced to five years in jail for theft and abuse of office.
But, as Sakala’s case was not related to the charges against Chiluba, his conviction has simply deepened a belief that the task force is inept — and that it will not be able to bring top-ranking officials to book. Former ministers Katele Kalumba and Michael Sata have already been let off the hook because the court deemed there was not enough evidence to prosecute them.
The force includes representatives from the Anti-Corruption Commission, the Drug Enforcement Commission, the state’s intelligence service and the police. But, this array fails to impress Dean Mungomba, leader of the opposition Zambia Alliance for Progress.
He says the country lacks the ability to fight corruption, and that suspected plunderers are slowly becoming heroes and heroines because of the fumbling of the task force: “Suspects are beginning to look like victims because they are arrested, charged and then nothing — they are let go.”
The force has also been embarrassed by what appear to be bungled efforts to strike deals with Chungu and Shasongo, in a bid to bolster the case against Chiluba — who governed Zambia for 10 years until 2001.
Former intelligence chief Chungu fled to the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) while out on bail a month ago, saying he feared that his chances of getting a fair trial in Zambia were being compromised by the fact that the task force wanted him to testify against Chiluba.
Earlier, former ambassador to the United States Attan Shasongo left for Britain — ostensibly to gather evidence against Chiluba (Shasongo is said to have laundered money for the former president). Once he got to the United Kingdom, however, he let it be known that he would neither be returning to Zambia, nor testifying against his former boss. Shasongo has a residence permit for Britain.
Deputy Minister of Home Affairs Kennedy Sakeni has said that while it might be possible to extradite Shasonga or have him tried in Britain, it is unlikely that Chungu will be sent back home — because Zambia does not have an extradition treaty with the DRC.
These events have prompted the Citizens Forum, a newly formed civic organisation, to claim that the fight against corruption has become too centred on Chiluba.
Spokesperson Emily Joy Sikazwe says the force appears to be focusing on Chiluba to the exclusion of everything else — whereas it should be building a case against all those implicated in government corruption.
“Let us not look at Chiluba alone. What about all his ministers who acquired wealth not commensurate with their salaries? What about chief executives of the parastatal organisations? The auditor general’s report has outlined outright cases of plunder and theft. Why are we not doing anything about them?” she asks.
Sikazwe also believes the task force might be made more accountable if Parliament passes a law that clearly stipulates its responsibilities.
“Right now it reports straight to Mwanawasa, who it appears has a personal vendetta against Chiluba … The church, civil society, lawyers and other organisations should be part of the task force to monitor its operations. At the moment it is just accumulating unnecessary bills with its bumbling investigations,” she says.
The task force also took a knock when the farm of its chairperson, Mark Chona, was repossessed by a bank to which his company owed money. Accusations of unethical conduct and vulnerability to corruption were bandied about, further tarnishing the force’s image.
But task force spokesperson Mpanzi Sinyangwe pleads for patience on the part of the public, saying there are 150 Zambian and foreign nationals — and 420 local and foreign companies — that are being investigated.
He also claims the force has made substantial progress in its efforts to retrieve the proceeds of corruption, having seized more than $60-million in property, vehicles, aircraft and cash.
“Without government’s intervention, all these properties and money would have been in private hands at the expense of 11-million Zambians still wallowing in poverty,” Sinyangwe says.
He adds that most people fail to appreciate the intricacies of large-scale investigations, and the constraints the task force is facing in terms of funding and resources.
For his part, Mwanawasa remains adamant that the force should remain in operation, saying Zambia stands to recover more than $300-million once the team has concluded its work.
But financial analyst Maulu Hamunjele is less optimistic. He believes that client confidentiality is posing significant barriers to the task force as it tries to track down the stolen funds in offshore accounts — and that lack of ability is again standing in the way of these barriers being overcome.
“The task force not only lacks the capacity to institute government-to-government investigations, [but] there is no political will because everything is centred around Chiluba,” he notes. — IPS