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The Economic and Financial Crimes Court has heard that some suppliers awarded contracts under the Zambia Medicines and Medical Supplies Agency’s (ZAMMSA) K1.4 billion “mop-up” procurement allegedly failed to demonstrate that they had physical stocks of medicines.
The court also heard that auditors uncovered indications of supplier collusion, inflated prices, manipulated budgets, missing procurement records and irregularities extending to the procurement of national cholera supplies.
Former ZAMMSA Director-General, Victor Nyasulu, Director of Supply Planning Nalishebo Siyandi and Director of Procurement, Habadu Nchimunya, are jointly charged with abuse of authority and wilful failure to comply with procurement laws.
Former Director General Dr John Kachimba is also facing charges. All the accused have denied the allegations.
During proceedings, the court heard that investigations into the procurement of national cholera supplies were triggered by a whistleblower complaint lodged in January 2025 by Jean Chongo, who alleged that her name had been included on an evaluation report despite not participating in the procurement process.
According to evidence, Chongo discovered the alleged irregularity through a forensic audit conducted by PwC and formally complained after learning that her name appeared on official procurement documents.
ZAMMSA Director of Internal Control Vivian Mupunda testified that she was assigned to investigate the complaint and requested procurement records relating to cholera commodities. She told the court that she was provided with ZPC Paper No. 99 of March 2024, covering procurement valued at approximately K16.8 million.
Mupunda said the document recommended awarding three contracts to Yash Pharmacy (K288,000), Cube Pharmaceuticals (K1.8 million) and VL Healthnet Limited (K14.4 million).
She further testified that a purchase requisition dated January 4, 2024, attached to a memorandum from the Director of Supply Planning to the then Director General, listed commodities worth approximately K22.2 million, while the Finance Manager had confirmed the availability of K23 million for the procurement.
The witness said she later reviewed three purchase orders allegedly signed on March 7, 2024, including those issued to Cube Pharmaceuticals for K1.8 million and VL Healthnet Limited for K14.4 million.
“I noted that it was irregular to have purchase orders exceeding K1 million, contrary to public procurement procedures,” Mupunda told the court.
The court further heard that delivery notes indicated Cube Pharmaceuticals had supplied goods on January 7, 8 and 16, 2024—before the procurement process had allegedly received formal approval.
Mupunda testified that during her investigation, Jean Chongo denied participating in the evaluation process and was requested to state her position in writing.
She said two other officers, Nora Nambela and Mundia Siyanga, also denied serving on the evaluation committee and submitted written statements confirming their positions.
According to Mupunda, evaluation records listed four committee members drawn from the supplies, finance and procurement departments, but concerns arose after some individuals denied participating in the exercise.
As part of the investigation, she requested access to electronic correspondence between Chanda Napanje and Sipho Banda. The request was approved by the then Director General, Dr John Kachimba.
Working with ICT officers, Mupunda reviewed emails which showed that on January 20, 2024, Sipho Banda received a quotation from a representative of Cube Pharmaceuticals for cholera commodities valued at K1.8 million. The quotation was dated January 19, 2024.
“What I noted was that the quotation was submitted after the goods had already been delivered,” she said.
Mupunda further testified that an email dated February 4, 2024, from Sipho Banda highlighted three concerns: that VL Healthnet Limited had supplied products not included in the original requisition; that names of evaluators needed to be formally included to avoid audit queries; and that most quoted prices exceeded the approved budget and required adjustment to align with procurement thresholds.
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She told the court that after comparing draft procurement documents with the final ZPC submission, she observed that budget figures appeared to have been adjusted to fall within the permissible plus-or-minus 10 percent threshold.
Mupunda also testified that her forensic review relied largely on photocopies of purchase orders and delivery notes because original procurement records could not be located and several files were incomplete or missing.
“I compiled my findings based on available records, but some original documents could not be traced during the investigation. The file in the Director General’s office had pages missing, while the copy on her laptop was also incomplete,” she said.
She added that it was only in June 2026 that auditors assisting with the investigation managed to recover additional supporting documentation.
The matter was adjourned to August 26, 2026, when the trial is expected to continue.
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