Corruption Countdown #1. Faith Musonda Money Used To Fund Scholarships

To commemorate one year since the New Dawn government took office, this month Open Zambia is taking stock on one of the UPND’s major manifesto promises: clamping down on corruption. We’re counting down the top ten biggest busts of the past year to see how what a difference this new administration is making.

Back in December 2021, the Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) arrested journalist Faith Musonda for being in possession of a house suspected to be the proceeds of a crime.

The house, located in Lusaka’s Kingsland City, was estimated to be worth $185,000 or about K3 million at the time.

It followed an earlier joint by the ACC and the Drugs Enforcement Commission (DEC) in October, which resulted in Musonda handing over K65 million, as well as $57,900 in cash to the state in exchange for immunity from prosecution.

It was later discovered that the journalist’s house had also been financed by criminal activity and so her amnesty was voided.

In a stunning example of killing two birds with one stone, in February the government then allocated the initial K65 million confiscated from Ms Musonda and used it to partially fund 2,232 university bursaries.

The saga proved a watershed moment for the New Dawn government, both in its record for clamping down on corruption but also its promise to prioritise education as a way of delivering on Zambia’s development agenda.