Zambia’s President Hakinde Hichilema has taken the extraordinary step of dismissing the entire board of directors of the country’s anti-corruption body after they themselves were accused of corruption, which they deny.
This comes days after the head of the Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC), Thom Shamakamba, resigned from his position.
Both he and the country’s attorney general – Marshal Muchende – were accused of accepting bribes. Both men vehemently deny the allegations.
Since Hichilema came to power three years ago, authorities have investigated several former government officials accused of corruption.
Now the explosive allegations are that ACC officials have been receiving payments from politicians targeted by the investigation in exchange for amnesty.
The whistleblower is a man called O’Brien Kaaba – who was once a board member of the ACC.
“Following press reports, the ACC, for example, made legally unreasonable deals immunizing some of the most corrupt individuals, thereby shielding them from justice and accountability,” he wrote earlier this week.
He said the same “immunity agreements” under the former governing party, the Patriotic Front, are now being “used under the current government in a way that demonstrates no commitment to fighting corruption.”
He said that the ACC must be reformed, claiming that the rot goes beyond the four dismissed counselors and affects the entire institution.
Mr Kaaba was sued by Mr Muchende for defamation – a step other figures could still take.
A statement from Zambia’s presidency said the council’s dissolution was necessary “to renew the sacred mandate of the Anti-Corruption Commission”.
The statement announcing Mr Shamakamba’s dismissal was also issued by State House, leading some to speculate whether he had in fact been fired.
Additional reporting by Natasha Booty
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