Three Ministry of Community Development and Social Services officials, including the district’s top social welfare officer, have been arrested over the alleged theft of K16,794,000 meant for some of Zambia’s poorest households.
By The Zambian Economist Analyst | Lusaka | 20 September 2026
KEY TAKEAWAYS
- Three Itezhi-Tezhi social welfare officials, Goretty Moonga, Humphrey Chikwasha and Anderson Ngulube, have been arrested for allegedly stealing K16,794,000 between 1 February and 30 April 2026.
- The Anti-Corruption Commission says the money was withdrawn in cash from the District Welfare Assistance Committee account on the pretext that it was needed for Social Cash Transfer activities.
- The Commission alleges the funds went into houses and motor vehicles, and it has restricted those properties.
- The programme hit hardest is the Social Cash Transfer scheme, which supports households that include the elderly, people with disabilities and orphaned children.
- The three are expected in court soon. The ACC has warned public officers that abusing funds meant for vulnerable people will attract prosecution.
Three officials from the Ministry of Community Development and Social Services (MCDSS) have been arrested for allegedly stealing more than K16.7 million meant for the Social Cash Transfer Programme in Itezhi-Tezhi District, the Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) has confirmed.
ACC Head of Corporate Communications Joseph Mwenya named the suspects as Itezhi-Tezhi District Social Welfare Officer Goretty Moonga, Assistant Social Welfare Officer Humphrey Chikwasha and Assistant Social Welfare Officer Anderson Ngulube. The trio is alleged to have stolen a combined K16,794,000 between 1 February and 30 April 2026 through cash withdrawals from the Itezhi-Tezhi District Welfare Assistance Committee account.
How the money was allegedly taken
According to Mr Mwenya, Ms Moonga is alleged to have withdrawn K6 million, Mr Chikwasha K5,574,400 and Mr Ngulube K5,219,600 over the three-month period.
The withdrawals were supposedly made to fund Social Cash Transfer activities. The Commission says that was not the case. Because the officials controlled the account by virtue of their employment, the funds are treated as government property that came into their possession lawfully and was then allegedly converted to personal use.
Where the money went
The ACC alleges the three used the funds to buy and maintain properties, including real estate and motor vehicles. Mr Mwenya said in a statement on Sunday that the Commission has moved to restrict those properties while investigations continue.
Restriction prevents the suspects from selling or transferring the assets while the state builds its case, a standard ACC step in matters where recoverable property is involved.
What this means for beneficiaries
The Social Cash Transfer Programme is Zambia’s largest safety net. It gives bi-monthly payments to households in extreme poverty, most of them headed by older people, widows or people with disabilities. For many recipient households, the transfer is the only predictable cash income they receive.
Itezhi-Tezhi, a largely rural district in Central Province, has some of the higher poverty concentrations the programme was designed to reach. K16.7 million would cover well over a year of transfers for thousands of households at current payment levels, meaning the alleged theft, if proven, directly postponed relief to people with no alternative income.
The bigger pattern
This is not the first time the programme’s funds have been diverted. Past Auditor General reports have repeatedly flagged weaknesses in the disbursement chain for social protection funds, from duplicate registrations to delayed payments and unaccounted-for cash at district level.
The ACC’s Mr Mwenya used the statement to warn public officers against abusing public resources, particularly funds intended for vulnerable members of society, adding that those found to have abused their positions for personal gain will face the law.
What happens next
The three officials are expected to appear in court soon. Under the Anti-Corruption Act, theft by public officers of funds in their custody carries serious penalties on conviction, including imprisonment, and restricted properties can be forfeited to the state.
The ACC has asked members of the public with information on the matter to come forward through its toll-free lines.
What it means for business, investors and policy
For investors and development partners: social protection integrity is a live reputational question. The Social Cash Transfer Programme is co-funded by government and partners including the World Bank, and repeated diversion cases raise the cost of keeping that support flowing.
For policy: the case renews pressure to move fully away from cash-based disbursement at district level and to tighten dual-signature controls and real-time reconciliation on welfare accounts.
For the Treasury: every kwacha lost to diversion is a kwacha that fails to reach its fiscal target, weakening the poverty-reduction returns the national budget promises each year.
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