On the 6th of March, 2017, the Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB) arrested Mr. Uladi
Mussa, former Minister of Home Affairs and Internal Security and charged him with
the offence of misuse of public office contrary to section 25B (1) of the Corrupt
Practices Act, among other offences. Mr. Uladi Mussa is jointly being prosecuted with
four other accused persons, namely; Mr. David Kwanjana, the former Regional
Immigration Officer (Centre), Mr. Pascal Rwasa (a Burundian), Mr. Esili Kubwimana
(a Rwandese) and Mr. Peter Katasha (a Malawian).
On the 21st of October, 2019, the Lilongwe High Court found Mr. Mussa and his four
co-accused persons with a case to answer. The case has since been adjourned to the
25th, 26th and 27th of November, 2019, for defence.
Mr. Uladi Mussa was a guest in Tiuzeni Zoona programme aired on Zodiak
Broadicasting Station on Sunday, the 3rd of November, 2019. Upon being asked
about the criminal case where he is being prosecuted by the ACB, Mr. Mussa took
time to insult officers of the ACB and discredited ACB’s competence for, according to
him, arresting and prosecuting him when he is “innocent”.
We wish to remind Mr. Mussa that employees of the ACB are public officers who,
despite facing a number operational and other challenges, strive to be professional in
discharging their duties. By investigating, arresting and now prosecuting Mr. Mussa,
officers of the ACB have nothing personal against Mr. Mussa other than fulfilling their
law enforcement mandate as provided for under the Corrupt Practices Act.
Much as we accept that Mr. Mussa has the right to express himself and indeed to
hold an opinion on any matter, we wish to caution Mr. Mussa to desist from
commenting on the criminal case that is currently in court as that would be
tantamount to interfering with the court processes.
We wish to further inform Mr. Mussa that the ACB will not be intimidated or
influenced by his media outbursts or utterances. On the contrary, the ACB will ensure
that the case in which Mr. Mussa and four other accused persons are answering
charges of corruption, is prosecuted to its logical conclusion. As a person who has
previously held various Cabinet portfolios, the least the Bureau can expect from Mr.
Mussa is to resort to intimidatory tactics to instill fear and panic in ACB officers for
simply doing their work. That is unacceptable and will not be tolerated at any cost.
Our unsolicited advice to Mr. Mussa is that instead of attacking the ACB and its
officers, he should concentrate and start preparing for his defence as the case comes
to court again on the 25th of November, 2019. Defending himself in the media is
pointless and a total waste of his time and energy.
Let us resist, reject and report corruption to the Anti-Corruption Bureau.
