On 15 July 2025, the Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB) arrested Mr. Rufia Nachamba, former Principal Human Resource Management and Development Officer at Nsanje District Council, for offences related to the manipulation of the government payroll system.
An investigation conducted by the ACB established that, in 2021, Mr. Nachamba corruptly abused his office by introducing seven ghost workers onto the payroll of Nsanje District Hospital.
Mr. Nachamba was charged with the following offences:
•Misuse of Public Office contrary to Section 25B (1) of the Corrupt Practices Act (CPA);
•Corrupt practice by a Public Officer contrary to Section 24(1) of the CPA for facilitating the inclusion and retention of a non-serving individual on government payroll and sharing the salary over a period of fifteen months;
•Uttering False Documents contrary to Section 360 of the Penal Code, including the use of falsified posting instruction letters, forged GP1 forms, and fraudulent HRMIS data entry forms submitted to the Department of Human Resource Management and Development (DHRMD).
On 16 July 2025, Mr. Nachamba was taken before the Second Grade Magistrate Court in Nsanje where he pleaded not guilty to all charges. The Court granted him bail under the following conditions:
•Paid to Court a cash bond of K500,000;
•Provided two non-cash sureties bonded at K2,000,000 each;
•To attend trial without fail;
•Not to interfere with state witnesses.
The case has been adjourned to 2 September 2025 for the hearing of the prosecution case.
The Anti-Corruption Bureau remains committed to its mandate to investigate and prosecute cases of corruption and promote transparency, accountability, and integrity in public service.
Resist, Reject, Report Corruption. Call 113
JACQUELINE NGONGONDA
SENIOR PUBLIC RELATIONS OFFICER
Phone: +265993966362
