Faith Musonda Surrenders Assets to the State, Gains Amnesty

Margaret Chisela Musonda, known as Faith Musonda, has surrendered K65 million and $57, 900 to the state, and in return will not face criminal charges at present.

The former ZNBC broadcaster was the subject of a joint investigation from the Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC), the Drug Enforcement Commission, Zambia Police and the Financial Intelligence Centre, for the possession of the money, which was discovered in a house in New Kasama.

It was believed the cash had been acquired illegally, and the investigative team has since traced the source to the Bank of Zambia, although how it came into Musonda’s possession remains unclear at this point.

Musonda has decided to cooperate with the state and surrender the money in full, whilst the house in New Kasama in which it was found has also been seized. The property has been valued at K6 million and is owned by OCK Investments Limited, a company in which Ms. Musonda is a majority shareholder. 

As a result the ACC has released a statement expressing that they will not initiate any criminal proceedings against Ms. Musonda because she has fully disclosed the money in question and willingly given it up to the Commission.

According to this statement, Musonda was charged with Possession of Property Reasonably Suspected to be Proceeds of Crime contrary to Section 71 of the Forfeiture of Proceeds of Crimes Act No.19 of 2010. However, the ACC has chosen to take advantage of Section 80 of the Anti-Corruption Act No.3 of 2012, and grant her amnesty for her cooperation. 

The statement, delivered by ACC public relations officer Jonathan Siame, reads, “Section 80 of the Act allows the State to grant amnesty to accused persons in certain instances on condition that they admit wrongdoing and return what they wrongfully acquired through corrupt practices.”

This is advantageous as it eliminates the time and cost of the prosecution process, whilst still of course ensuring any criminal gains are seized efficiently and culpability is laid at the relevant feet. 

Mr Siame added that the swiftness of this process allows the investigative arm of the ACC, and their colleagues from other institutions on this investigation, to “continue to pursue all available avenues to speed up the process of recovering asserts and other proceeds of crime.” 

To that end, Siame added, “We urge all well-meaning Zambians who have any information with regard to any suspected illegally obtained assets to come forward and report to any of the institutions aforementioned.”