The Anti-Corruption Bureau is empowered under Section 10 (1) (b) of the Act to receive and investigate complaints of alleged or suspected corrupt practices and, subject to the directions of the Director of Public Prosecutions, to prosecute for offences under the Act. It also investigates under Section 10 (1) (c) the conduct of any public officer which is conducive or connected to corruption and to report thereon to the Minister.

It does so through the Investigations and Legal Division which comprises an Investigations Branch, a Prosecutions Branch and a Documentation Centre. The Investigations and Legal Division is under the command of an Assistant Director.

So far, four Investigations Officers have joined the Bureau, with three more to join shortly and another three thereafter. Two Prosecutions Officers are in the process of being recruited. The Documentation Centre is currently under the management of a Senior Documentation Assistant. A Documentation Officer is being recruited

In order to discharge the above functions the Bureau is in the process of establishing Specialist Investigations units which will handle particular areas of corruption investigation. The Bureau will liaise closely with the Attorney General's Chambers and the Director of Public Prosecutions and a number of meetings have already taken place in regard to specific investigation activities of the Bureau.

The Prosecutions Branch will provide adequate legal advice to investigators and will in due course prosecute offenders, under the control of the Director of Public Prosecutions. In instances where evidence of corrupt activities exist, but the Bureau cannot prosecute because witnesses are unwilling or unable to come to court (in foreign investigations for example) or where a public officer's conduct is connected to or conducive to corruption, such offenders will be reported to relevant ministries or authorities for appropriate administrative or disciplinary action to be taken. This is in accordance with Section 10 (1) (c) of the Act.

An Operational Resource Centre has been established in Lilongwe and progress is being made towards the creation of a Data Bank. In due course the same will be created in the Blantyre office. A Systems Analyst/Programmer has been recruited and will join the Bureau shortly. A Bureau Library is to be established.

Although no investigative staff joined the Bureau until 9th February, 1998, the Director and Deputy Director, assisted by the Technical Advisor, did not sit back waiting for the staff to join. A number of investigations were authorised by the Director and carried out by the Deputy Director with sufficient administrative, logistical and technical support throughout the processes to conclusion. Before 9th February, 1998, substantial operational work was done, namely—

• the Bureau completed investigations on the Ministry of Justice and submitted a Report in accordance with Section 10 (1) (c) of the Act;
• the Bureau completed investigations on allegations made in Nkhata Bay and submitted a Report in accordance with the Act;
• the Bureau completed investigations on allegations concerning Immigration Regional Office (Centre) and submitted a Report in accordance with the Act.
• the Bureau followed up issues with other authorities; of significance is one referral

which led to the subsequent arrest of the culprit through "Operation Chotsa Mbava".

A summary of the completed investigations is given below.

It is worthy of note that since the Assistant Director and other staff have joined, there has been a massive increase in the number of investigations that are undertaken at any one time.

A major exercise is currently under way to deal with all correspondences sent to the Bureau since 1997. Details are contained in the Appendices. Since many of the complaints did not in fact concern corruption, correspondents have been directed to other departments. All of these complaints fall into the category of petty, or "micro corruption".

In so far as "grand" corruption is concerned, the Bureau is actively pursuing a number of such complaints. Such investigations require a systematic and professional approach. Corruption at this level is difficult to detect because of the "satisfied-customer" arrangement whereby both the giver and taker of the bribe are "satisfied" with the respective result of the act. However, those complaints which are under investigation have come to the attention of the Bureau either through people directly approaching the Bureau either in person or in writing or as a result of reports entering the public domain through the media and hence an investigation is justified in the public interest.

Every single investigation however must be authorised by the Director in accordance with Section 11 (1) (a) of the Act. This section is an important safety check in the investigation process as it guarantees that no officer of the Bureau can commence any investigation without authority and hence precludes potential abuse of the investigative process. Similarly, the Director can, under the law, decline to investigate a complaint if he considers it to be made in bad faith, trivial, frivolous, unnecessary, or improper or futile.

A person who knowingly makes a false complaint or delays or hinders the work of the Bureau can be prosecuted under the law with heavy fines and long imprisonment.

In deciding to authorise an investigation, the Director therefore needs to critically examine the complaint to see that an investigation is justified and based on sound and credible information. It would be improper to order an investigation on frivolous grounds or to satisfy unjustified public demand or to witch-hunt.

THE ANTI-CORRUPTION BUREAU
P.O. BOX 2437
LILONGWE