ACC must explain the mystery of 48 houses

Dear Editor,

THE Anti-corruption Commission, made an official statement to the effect that, under the Forfeiture Act, 48 houses believed to belong to Ministry of Finance officials suspected to have been proceeds of a crime were seized by the State and further that tenants were ordered to be remitting rentals to government.

It has now come to our attention through the Commissions Acting Director General that the case has been closed due to lack of evidence linking anyone to the said property. It is further reported that no one has come forward to declare ownership of the said property after publication of the Gazette Notice, while the person whose name the property or properties were registered in had equally disowned them (Daily Nation 31st July 2019).

The Commission needs to answer the following questions before the cases are closed;

1. How and why did they make announcements before investigations were concluded, thereby alarming the nation?

2. How was the Ministry of Finance official liked to the properties?

3. On whose plots are the houses sitting and what are the records at Ministry of Lands and the Council?

4. Why should someone get away with a case by merely disowning suspicious properties liked to them?

5. How were the 48 properties separated from others in Chalala, what was the lead?

6. To whom were the tenants paying rentals and with whom did they sign the Tenancy Agreement.

Mr Wright Musoma was right to request that the cases be re-opened. I however, do not share or believe that ACC officials were bribed to hide the identities of the culprits, what is exhibited here is unprofessional investigations. Cases of suspicious properties like houses need to be followed through a trial of who is the land owner and what is the source of finances.

The fact is that, the houses did not build themselves, so who is the owner? The other fact is that, the houses are not floating in the air, so whose plots are they sitting on. Therefore, we need to change the entire investigation team at ACC, for we have experienced enough of academic investigations. The newly constituted Board of Commissioners should quickly settle on practical investigators, the current work culture reflects badly on the state as the ACC is a central wing of government.