ACB growls at Muluzi’s BCA residence
The graft-busters Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB) yesterday kept the United Democratic Front (UDF) on tenterhooks when it was leaked that its national chair and former president Dr Bakili Muluzi’s residence at BCA in Blantyre would be raided at night to ‘seize’ at least 142 vehicles.
A party official, who broke the news to Nyasa Times minutes after he was made aware of the development, said he was personally at loss to make sense out of the ACB conduct “because Dr Muluzi was being judged basing on hearsay.”
Party diehards braved the ice-cold Chiperoni weather to keep vigil at their ailing leader’s residence and vowed to do everything within their means to stop ACB from taking anything.
The award winning independent FM radio station Zodiak updated listeners on developments.
Lawyer Jai Banda said he had been informed that ACB would be seizing his client’s vehicles but was not aware of the exact time.
“In the meantime our client will not be having any vehicle,” said Banda.
He expressed dismay that the former president was feeling visibly poorly to be subjected to torment.
ACB director Alex Nampota confirmed the development but would not indicate time.
“That’s an operation matter. Our operation officers have been working on logistics. The order is valid. For the time being our officers will definitely proceed,” he said
More than 20 hours later, the order seems not to have been effected and it was reported that the graft bursting body would carry out the seizure today.
The ACB court-backed seizure of Dr Muluzi’s assets such as the multi-million Kwacha Keza Office Park and vehicles was apparently prompted when the former president asked to adjourn his MK1.4 billion corruption case until after medical attention in the United Kingdom.
However, ACB director Alex Nampota with Immigration Chief Elvis Thodi objected and stopped Dr Muluzi by seizing his passport hours before departure saying they had been “tipped” he would not come back home and there was need for surety.
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