Anti-Corruption Bureau admits hurdles in recovering Cashgate
The Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB) says it does not have a concrete figure (in monetary terms) of the amount that has been recovered from convicts of cashgate related cases.
This is coming at a time the public has been expressing displeasure over the slow recovery of money that was plundered from the State coffers in 2013.
Two years ago, the graft-busting institution said it had only recovered K300 million, representing three percent of the K24 billion that was stolen.
ACB is prosecuting the cases jointly with the office of Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) in the Ministry of Justice.
However, this week, the Bureau said it has no concrete figures of the amount that has so far been recovered from convicts of Cashgate related cases because some of the property that was seized has not been valued to determine how much it is worth.
In a response to an enquiry on the progress of the recovery of the proceeds, the Bureau’s spokesperson Egrita Ndala pointed out that it is not always easy to practically recover everything that was plundered as some of it may have been used already by the convicts before they were investigated, prosecuted, convicted and sentenced.
She added that even if the total amount were to be recovered, the monitory value may have depreciated in the period between commission of the offence and the time it is recovered.
“The Bureau is not in a position to ascertain how much would be recovered as it is not easy to practically recover everything that was plundered because some of it may have been used already by the convicts,” Ndala said.
She said it should also be borne in mind that there are some cases which are being handled by the DPP.
So far, there have been over 12 convictions, while cases of 15 suspects are in progress. In addition, two of the convicts, Leonard Kalonga, and Allan Magombo, are yet to be sentenced, close to three years after their respective convictions.
In addition, the prosecution of former Budget Director, Paul Mphwiyo, who is one of the accused in a case involving the plunder of K2.4 billion, is underway.
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