L AW enforcement officers raided Road Transport and Safety Agency (RTSA) chief executive officer Zindaba Soko’s house on Tuesday night and searched the premises on suspicions of money-laundering activities. The officers from the Drug Enforcement Commission (DEC) and Anti-Corruption Commission searched Mr Soko’s home around 23:00 hours. DEC Commissioner Alita Mbahwe told journalists yesterday that law enforcement agencies received a complaint against Mr Soko and acted on it.

Ms Mbahwe said the RTSA chief was interrogated based on allegations against him. She said Mr Soko, just like any other ordinary citizen, was accorded an opportunity to respond to the allegations. “We are doing investigations. We received a complaint against Mr Zindaba Soko. Just like any other member of the public, he has been given a chance to explain himself in relation to allegations levelled against him,” Ms Mbahwe said.  She, however, said the allegations against Mr Soko are not drug-related and that members of the public will be informed about the outcome of the investigations in due course.

“It is not a drug-related complaint. You will be informed about what exactly we are investigating Mr Soko on when we are done with investigations. “Right now, for those of you who have information about Mr Soko’s house being raided yesterday [Tuesday], it is a normal thing during the course of our investigations,” Ms Mbahwe said. She said there is no witchhunt in raiding Mr Soko’s house because it is a normal investigation procedure. “We will go and search anyone’s home if we feel that the evidence we require is going to be found in that place.

“Remember, the Drug Enforcement Commission does not only deal with drugs, we also deal with issues to do with money laundering,” Ms Mbahwe said. Efforts to get Mr Soko’s comment failed as his mobile phone went unanswered on several attempts. “Sorry, I cannot pick up now, please short message me,” an auto response from Mr Soko’s mobile phone read.

Meanwhile, Minister of Transport and Communications Brian Mushimba says he has no idea why Mr Soko is being investigated. Dr Mushimba said he is not sure if investigations against Mr Soko are work-related. “Does the raid have anything to do with the ministry? This may be a personal matter. How does the ministry get involved? “Unless you are sure he was raided for work-related suspicious activities, which I can’t confirm myself, hence my lack of comment,” he said.