Cashgate: ACB summons Ndilowe, intensifies fishing evidence against JB

The Anti Corruption Bureau (ACB) has intensified the summoning of various individuals, including former top government officials during the Joyce Banda administration, for what an inside source has described as “serious questioning” over the looting of public resources from Capital Hill, also known as the ‘Cashgate Scandal’.

ACB insiders told Nyasa Times on Thursday that some of the individuals, including the former Chief Secretary to the Government, Hawa Ndilowe, have been grilled specifically on what they know about the role the former Head of State Banda, played when millions of Kwacha were lost through the abuse and manipulation of the government central paying system called, IFMIS (Integrated Financial Management and Information System).

Ndilowe is now Malawi envoy to Tanzania.

“They are being questioned for hours on end on the alleged involvement of the then President. These individuals are being thoroughly grilled on what they know about President Banda’s personal involvement,” he said.

He said that it is “an open secret” that the Cashgate matter was the DPP administration’s prime plot to ‘corner’ Joyce Banda with. However, he said, it seems this ‘plot’ is no longer a viable weapon as there is no ‘direct’ evidence linking her to any wrongdoing.

The ACB source disclosed that the bureau has so far failed to ‘solicit’ any evidence from the interviewed individuals, which directly links Banda to the Cashgate scam.

Despite obvious intimidation tactics on the part of the ACB interrogators, most of the individuals have stood firm and have given their honest answers “and to the best of their knowledge,” he said.

According to the high-ranking ACB source, it is most apparent that the DPP government is intent at using the ACB as a mangy dog to get at political opponents in the current political endgame.

It is obvious that the former President is the main target, with a view to “embarrassing her in the light of her ever-rising local and global profile”.

“What is more unfortunate though, from what I have gathered in the course of our work at ACB, is that it seems the lack of evidence against former President Banda will not stand in the way of President Peter Mutharika persecuting his predecessor for political ends.

“It looks more and more apparent the DPP administration will leave no stone unturned to lock up Joyce Banda and some of her closest political allies like Brown Mpinganjira, Henry Phoya, Ephraim Chibvunde, Moses Kunkuyu, among others,” said the ACB source.

During the past two weeks, the ACB has been involved in a fellowship of arrests, rounding up a horde of people that were allegedly involved in Cashgate. Among those that have been arrested include former Budget Director in the Ministry of Finance Paul Mphwiyo, his wife Thandi, former Deputy Inspector General, Nelson Bophani, former spokesperson of the People’s Party (PP), Hophmally Makande and newly-appointed Assets Director, Christopher Tukula.