Zambia’s President Hakinde Hichilema has taken the extraordinary step of sacking the entire board of the country’s anti-corruption agency, amid allegations of corruption that they deny.
The news comes days after the head of the Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC), Thom Shamakamba, resigned.
Both he and the country’s attorney general, Marshal Muchende, have been accused of accepting bribes. Both men strongly deny the charges.
Since Hichilema came to power three years ago, authorities have been investigating a number of officials from the previous government on allegations of corruption.
Now there are explosive allegations that ACC officials accepted payments from politicians targeted in the investigation in exchange for amnesty.
The whistleblower is a man named O’Brien Kaaba, who was once a board member of the ACC.
“For example, based on press reports, ACC has entered into legally meaningless settlements to immunize some of the most corrupt individuals, thus shielding them from justice and accountability,” he wrote earlier this week.
He said the same “immunity deals” under the former ruling party, the Patriotic Front, are now “being used under the current government in a way that shows no commitment to the fight against corruption.”
He said the ACC needed to be reformed. According to him, the rot goes beyond the four dismissed board members and has consequences for the entire institution.
Mr Kaaba has been sued by Mr Muchende for defamation, a step that other figures may also take.
A statement from the Zambian president said the dissolution of the council was necessary “to renew the sacred mandate of the Anti-Corruption Commission”.
The statement announcing Mr Shamakamba’s resignation was also issued by the House of Representatives, leading to speculation as to whether he had actually been dismissed.
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