Ex-Lawmaker Says US$3.5bn Illicit Flows Deserve Urgent DEC Attention
A former Member of Parliament has challenged the Drug Enforcement Commission to prioritise investigations into large-scale illicit financial flows instead of focusing on the alleged irregular acquisition of a vehicle involving Lusaka Archbishop Alick Banda.
In a strongly worded public statement, Sensio Banda, who previously represented Kasenengwa Constituency in Eastern Province, criticised the commission's decision to summon the Archbishop over a Toyota Hilux allegedly obtained during the previous administration. Banda said that while no citizen should be exempt from the law, the emphasis placed on the case was disproportionate when viewed against Zambia's wider economic challenges.
Banda said Zambia was facing what he described as systemic economic hemorrhage driven by grand corruption and illicit financial flows rather than isolated cases involving individual assets. He cited figures from the 2024 Financial Intelligence Centre Trends Report, which estimated that about US$3.5 billion was lost in a single year through tax evasion, illegal mining activities, trade mis-invoicing, and complex corporate schemes.
According to Banda, the scale of the reported losses far outweighs the alleged value of the vehicle under investigation. He said the estimated US$3.5 billion, roughly K81 billion, represented nearly 42 per cent of the 2025 national budget and could have been used to support health services, infrastructure development, and economic stabilisation.
He questioned why law-enforcement attention appeared to be directed at what he described as symbolic cases rather than investigations into multinational companies and networks flagged in financial intelligence reports. Banda said the absence of visible action against those implicated in large-scale capital flight raised concerns about enforcement priorities.
The former MP also referred to recent governance controversies, including the Zambia Medicines and Medical Supplies Agency case involving 61 containers of medical supplies. The scandal led to the withdrawal of about US$50 million in United States health assistance. Banda said while some officials were arrested, public accountability had not matched the scale of the consequences, particularly for clinics affected by shortages.
He further pointed to developments at the Anti-Corruption Commission, where the board was dissolved in 2024 following allegations by former commissioner O'Brien Kaaba that the institution had been compromised to protect senior officials. Banda said such events had weakened public confidence in the integrity of anti-corruption institutions.
Within this context, Banda said the summoning of a senior Catholic cleric, who has been vocal on governance and moral issues, was being received with scepticism by sections of the public. He said the timing of the investigation, as Zambia moves toward the 2026 general elections, risked being interpreted as selective accountability.
Banda noted that opposition political parties were financially weakened, while the Catholic Church remained one of the few institutions with nationwide reach and moral authority. He argued that shifting public focus from large-scale financial losses to a clerical asset dispute risked reshaping national debate away from deeper economic issues.
The former MP acknowledged the DEC's position that its mandate was preventive rather than punitive, but said prevention should be proportional to the harm being addressed. He argued that focusing on alleged irregularities involving a small number of vehicles would not address the broader economic challenges caused by illicit financial flows.
He said the key test for law-enforcement agencies was whether they could demonstrate equal urgency in pursuing individuals and networks implicated in large-scale corruption. Banda warned that uneven enforcement could undermine public trust and blur the line between justice and intimidation.
The DEC has previously stated that no individual is above the law and that summonses form part of routine investigative procedures. The commission has maintained that investigations are conducted based on information arising from case records rather than political or religious considerations.
Banda concluded that meaningful progress in the fight against corruption would be measured by the recovery of public resources and accountability for large-scale economic losses rather than symbolic actions. He said public confidence would depend on whether enforcement efforts were seen to address systemic corruption rather than isolated cases.