Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) public relations manager Timothy Moono says it is not right to say the commission fails to secure convictions because in the last five years, it has secured more guilty verdicts than acquittals.

Last week, Ministry of Information and Broadcasting Services Permanent Secretary Chanda Kasolo said government was frustrated that time and money were being wasted on prosecuting corruption cases when no one had been found guilty recently.

“As government, we get very frustrated when we start a case and then somebody is found not guilty. Why do we get frustrated? Because we are wasting a lot of funds! That money could have gone to providing medical care for our people, better food nutrition for our people but we have to spend it on time wasting cases. Not a single corruption has been proved recently,” said Kasolo.

But in response to a press query, Wednesday, Moono said the commission deserved credit for the work it was doing.

“I wish to inform you that in the last five years, 95 people have been convicted of corruption and these include some high-profile individuals. Over K78 million worth of assets have also been recovered and forfeited to the state. Suffice to add that the number of [those] acquitted is far less than the number of convictions as can be evidenced from our statistics. It is therefore not true that the commission fails to secure convictions, whether in high or ordinary profile cases,” stated Moono.

“I wish to state that the fight against corruption requires a holistic approach that includes public education, prevention, investigation and prosecution. All the afore-mentioned activities require adequate resources or funding to achieve optimal results. These activities involve opportunities for corruption and improve service delivery. Punitive measures also need to be in place so that offenders are punished and the punishment acts as a deterrent to those that may intend to commit similar offences. The commission remains resolute in executing its mandate and will investigate and prosecute any person, regardless of social standing or political affiliation. This is to ensure that corruption not only remains a high-risk crime but also reduces and ill-gotten wealth is not enjoyed by perpetrators.”