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There’s no division over MoH probe, claims Wandi

There’s no division over MoH probe, claims Wandi
Written by Masuzyo Chakwe

THERE is no division among law enforcement organs in the manner the inquiry on the Ministry of Health is being handled, Anti Corruption Commission (ACC) acting director general Rosewin Wandi has claimed. And Commissioner of Police Graphael Musamba said additional suspects in the K27 billion Ministry of Health corruption scam will be announced later.

During a joint press briefing by Zambia Police, Drug Enforcement Commission (DEC) and the ACC, Wandi said the management of the joint inquiry was saddened by a report contained in The Post regarding assertions of frustrations among ACC officers in the manner the inquiry at the Ministry of Health had been progressing of late.

"A joint team of officers comprising officers from the Zambia Police Service, the Anti Corruption Commission and the Drug Enforcement Commission are working together on this matter. The magnitude of the investigation is complex with multiplicity of offences and extremely demanding," she said.

Wandi said it was incorrect to suggest that the inquiry had been hijacked because all law enforcement agencies had responsibilities within their mandate and no single agency could lay claim to the inquiry.

She said it was not correct to state that 'officers' from the ACC were unhappy when it was just one or two disgruntled individuals.

Wandi said all officers who were working on the investigation had taken part in the joint briefings and would continue to operate in that manner.

She said nothing would divert attention from the inquiry which had so far made substantial progress, and more arrests and additional charges would be brought.

Wandi warned officers on the inquiry to observe standing instructions on communication of information through the established channel and any information would be released through the joint command post.

"The command is taking firm measures to get to the root of the matter on the 'alleged frustration' and ensure that the person behind such irresponsible statements are dealt with firmly," she said "The command is confident that with the input of all the law enforcement agencies, the inquiry will be handled professionally to the logical conclusion."

Officers at the ACC on Thursday complained that the Zambia Police had hijacked the investigations and prosecution of former human resource manager in the Ministry of Health Henry Kapoko.

Well-placed sources within ACC revealed that the officers were frustrated with the engagement of the Zambia Police to take over the investigations and prosecution of Kapoko.

And Musamba said the joint command post had chosen the Zambia police to chair the investigations team and would issue statements after consulting with the other members.

He said arrests would be done by all the members of the joint investigative bodies as this was not the jurisdiction of one body.

Musamba said other arrests would follow but he was not in a position to say who and when as they relied on reports from people on the ground.

"In due course, we will release the information, at the moment we are not in a position to say that, let me just say that there will be additional suspects in due course. At an appropriate time, you will be told but we are not going to speculate that such and such a person will be arrested. As soon as the evidence yields in the investigations, we will be able to tell you what you want," he said.

On former Ministry of Health permanent secretary Dr Simon Miti, Musamba said Dr Miti had not been arrested by the joint investigations team and that the public would know as soon as there was a new development.

He also said all dockets that would arise from the investigations would be availed to the Director of Public Prosecution (DPP).

On calls for the investigations to be extended to other government departments, Musamba said the focus for now was on Ministry of Health and when time comes to investigate other government wings, they would progress accordingly.

He said there would be a second phase where everything pertaining to the recovery of other properties would be made public as people on the ground were still gathering information.

The ACC recently unearthed a scam at the Ministry of Health involving some officials where over K10 billion is allegedly to have been corruptly obtained.

Labels: GRAPHAEL MUSAMBA, MINISTRY OF HEALTH, ROSEWIN WANDI

posted by MrK @ 1:54 PM