By Charles Mafa
President Hakainde Hichilema has taken action by terminating the contracts of two of the 20 senior government officials who were arrested by the Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) in March 2023, in connection with the theft of over a billion kwacha of public funds within the Ministry of Finance.
Hichilema terminated the contracts of Kennedy Musonda and Chibwe Nerbet Mulonda, who held positions as Accountant General and Controller of Internal Audit in the Ministry of Finance at the time of the incident.
According to a statement issued on Monday, 18 March 2024, by Chief Communications Specialist Clayson Hamasaka, the President, “pursuant to Article 270 of the Constitution of the Republic of Zambia, has terminated the contracts of the following officials: Mr. Kennedy Musonda as Accountant General and Mr. Chibwe Nerbet Mulonda as Controller of Internal Audit”. These terminations occurred alongside other changes within the government.
Despite their arrests, Musonda and Mulonda continued to receive salaries from the government, while the whistleblower, Grandy Ntumbo, has been facing targeted actions from certain high-ranking government officials who managed to evade arrest.
This victimisation has manifested in various forms, including unwarranted disciplinary actions initiated by senior government officials at the Ministry of Finance.
In an inexplicable move, he was abruptly transferred to Mongu in the Western Province. For more than a year, his salary has been intentionally withheld since January 2023, and he has now been entirely removed from the payroll, intensifying his distress.
In 2021, Ntumbo, the Principal Internal Auditor in Ministry of Finance, was reassigned to investigate financial irregularities within the Ministry of General Education. During the investigation, he uncovered extensive money laundering and corruption schemes involving public funds, which had far-reaching implications, even reaching the Ministry of Finance itself.
Scale of the financial theft
The financial irregularities in the Ministry of Finance came to light in August 2022 when Transparency International Zambia (TIZ) conducted its own investigation revealing the embezzlement of over K1 billion from the state treasury. The embezzlement occurred through fictitious allowances and a five-year payroll fraud.
Additional instances of financial irregularities included K21 million spent on illegal travel allowances for senior Ministry of General Education officials and payments exceeding K2 million for goods that were never delivered.
Another example involved the theft of K530,000 at the Provincial Education Office in Kabwe.
Although these financial irregularities were reported to both the ACC and the Drug Enforcement Commission (DEC), leading to the arrest of 20 senior government officials, including the Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Finance, the Accountant General, and the Controller of Internal Audit, there has been no progress on the case.
The reason for the lack of legal action remains unclear, but it casts President Hichilema’s administration under scrutiny as the victimisation of the whistleblower persists.
It also raises concerns regarding the government’s dedication to combatting corruption and protecting whistleblowers, promises that were emphasised during the election campaign.
As a whistleblower who has exposed rampant corruption and theft, the auditor is protected by the provisions outlined in the Public Interest Disclosure (Protection of Whistleblowers) Act No. 4 of 2010.
Part II of the Act, specifically in section 10, clearly stipulates that “An employer shall not subject an employee to any occupational detriment on account, or partly on account, of the employee having made a protected disclosure or public interest disclosure.”
The Act defines ‘occupational detriment’ as including disciplinary action, dismissal, suspension, demotion, harassment, intimidation, or involuntary transfer due to the disclosure.
Legal triumph
In a significant development on December 13, 2023, the court delivered a landmark verdict, overturning the transfer and dismissing the disciplinary hearing against Ntumbo.
Judge Catherine Kunda Makungu, presiding over the case in the Supreme Court, not only ordered the payment of Ntumbo’s overdue remuneration but also instructed the ACC to promptly provide him with a safe house.
Ntumbo, took legal action against his employer, the Ministry of Finance, the ACC, and DEC in the High Court.
The legal showdown in the Supreme Court followed a denial of leave to proceed with judicial review proceedings by Lusaka High Court Judge, Elita Phiri Mukwisa.
Despite this setback, the Appeals Court’s decisive intervention signaled a pivotal moment in the whistleblower’s fight for justice
Three months after the judgment, the Ministry of Finance and DEC, both governmental bodies, have ignored a Court of Appeal order that invalidated the transfer and annulled the disciplinary hearing of Ntumbo.
MakanDay has further established that Ntumbo’s legal team is now poised to pursue legal action against the director general of DEC, secretary to the treasury, and the permanent secretary of the Ministry of Finance for contempt of court and failure to adhere to court orders.
Photo Source: The President’s Facebook Page
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