THE Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) has arrested former Southern Province Permanent Secretary Sibanze Simuchoba and 13 other officials at the Provincial Administration for Willful Failure to Follow Procedure and Fraudulent False Accounting involving over K 623,000.

In a statement, Wednesday, ACC Corporate Affairs Officer Jonathan Siame said Sibanze and two others failed to follow applicable procedure when authorizing the transfer of funds from a named Account without written approval from the Secretary to the Treasury.

“The Anti-Corruption Commission has arrested former Southern Province Permanent Secretary Sibanze Simuchoba and 13 other officials at the Provincial Administration for Willful Failure to Follow Procedure and Fraudulent False Accounting involving over K 623, 000 contrary to the Laws of Zambia. Sibanze, 66, of House No. 19 Ngwerere Road, Roma, Lusaka, together with Enoce Kashweka, 57 a former Principle Accountant, and Linda Siwale, a Chief Planner at the Choma Provincial Administration have been jointly charged with One Count of Willful Failure to Follow Procedure contrary to Section 34 (2)(b) of the Anti-Corruption Act No. 3 of 2012,” Siame said.

“This is in a matter in which the trio willfully failed to follow applicable procedure in the manner they authorized transfer of funds from a named Account without written approval from the Secretary to the Treasury. Sibanze and Kashweka have further been charged with another Count of Willful Failure to Follow Procedure involving a matter in which the duo failed to follow applicable procedure in the manner they authorized transfer of funds from the Highly Indebted Poor Countries (HIPC) Relief Account to another Account without written approval from the Secretary to the Treasury.”

Siame said the Commission had also arrested 11 other officials from the Choma Provincial Administration and various Ministries for fraudulent false accounting.

“Meanwhile, 11 other officials from the Choma Provincial Administration and various Ministries have been arrested for fraudulent false accounting contrary to Section 326 of the Penal Code Chapter 87 of the laws of Zambia. The 11 have each been charged with One Count of Fraudulent false accounting for falsifying retirement entries of various amounts of money paid as imprest, purporting to have travelled to various Districts in Southern Province when they did not in fact travel, a matter which concerns the provincial Administration, a public body,” said Siame.

“The 11 officials include, Mr Hameja Muzoka, an Accountant, Mr Muyano Mwanang’ombe, Senior Accountant at the Ministry of Health, Mr Cheelo Chiyanika, Senior Accountant at the Ministry of Water Development, Sanitation and Environmental Protection, and Mr Brighton Mutokola, an Accountant at the Provincial Administration. Others are Ms Nsofwa Kangwa, an Accounts Assistant at Ministry of Ministry of Religious Affairs and National Guidance, Ms Chaoneka Lubemba, Mr Rossy Kajebwe, both Accounts Assistant at the Provincial Administration, Mr Isaac Moonga, assistant accountant at Kabwe Mine Hospital, Mr Winter Lupani, Mr Chisanga Simuchomba, and Mr Owen Ngulube, all accounts assistants at the Provincial Administration. The 14 are due to appear before the Choma Magistrate’s Court on 3rd November, 2021.”