GRACE CHAILE,
MATHEWS MALAZIKA
Lusaka
FORMER Permanent Secretary for Special Duties Mwamba Peni and his counterpart at the Ministry of Education are facing separate legal proceedings arising from allegations involving a government vehicle and a US$401.8 million procurement-related loan obligation.
In the first matter, the Lusaka High Court has heard that Mr Peni allegedly evaded investigators for several months after he failed to surrender a government vehicle assigned to him while serving as permanent secretary.
Chief Inspector Pyson Chishala, a senior investigations officer at Zambia Police headquarters, said the Ministry of Transport and Logistics asked police on March 26 this year to retrieve a Mitsubishi Pajero, registration number GRZ 237 CV, from Mr Peni.
This followed his removal as permanent secretary for special duties at Cabinet Office by President Hakainde Hichilema on February 26 this year.
In an affidavit opposing Mr Peni’s application for a writ of habeas corpus, Chief Inspector Chishala said police made several attempts to trace him but were unsuccessful until August 20 this year.
He said officers from the Anti-Frauds Unit and other security wings eventually apprehended Mr Peni in Sunningdale, Lusaka.
According to Chief Inspector Chishala, Mr Peni was subsequently charged with conversion not amounting to theft in connection with the vehicle.
He said Mr Peni was warned and cautioned and informed of his right to be released on police bond.
The former permanent secretary was subsequently released on bond on September 8 this year.
Mr Peni had petitioned the High Court seeking his release from police custody, arguing that his continued detention was unlawful.
In his affidavit, however, Mr Peni gave a different account, saying he was apprehended on August 20 by officers from the Crime One Unit, the Zambia Information and Communications Technology Authority and the Office of the President.
He said the officers had gone to collect the government vehicle assigned to him during his tenure and that he was subsequently detained at Lusaka’s Ridgeway Police Post.
Mr Peni denied wrongdoing and maintained that he remained a civil servant pending deployment.
Meanwhile, former Ministry of Education Permanent Secretary Henry Tukombe and former head of procurement and supply Jacob Masatunya have been arrested and charged with wilful failure to comply with applicable public procurement guidelines.
The Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) said the two are accused of irregularities relating to a contract with Hong Kong based Mikalile Trading Company Limited for the supply and delivery of various school items countrywide.
ACC head of corporate communications Joseph Mwenya said the contract involved a principal sum of US$259.25 million, additional interest of US$138.70 million and arrangement fees of US$3.89 million, bringing the total loan obligation to US$401.84 million.
The ACC alleges that between January 1, 2016 and December 31, 2021, the two officials allowed the procurement to proceed without a request from the user department and without subjecting the bid to evaluation.
The two are further accused of proceeding without obtaining the required approvals from the Ministerial Procurement Committee.
Mr Mwenya said Mr Tukombe and Mr Masatunya have since been released on bond and will appear in court.
The allegations against the duo remain matters for determination through the judicial process. https://enews.daily-mail.co.zm/welcome/home
