Africa-Press – Malawi. One of the country’s civil rights group, Forum for National Development (FND) wants President Lazarus Chakwera’s Tonse Alliance government to put sanctions against public officers aiding, abetting and undermining the fight against corruption in Malawi.
In a letter sent to heads of Diplomatic Missions to Malawi signed by FND National Coordinator Fyson Chodzi, The Maravi Post has seen, says Chakwera’s sincerely on corruption fight must start with his aids embroidered into corruption.
Chodzi cited Secretary to President and Cabinet (SPC) Colleen Zamba who has been entangled into National Oil Company of Malawi (NOCMA) corrupt allegation which until now Chakwera has not yet acted on anything.
“There have been serious allegations made on record to Parliament by Ms. Helen Buluma, the former Acting Chief Executive Officer (CEO) for National Oil Company of Malawi (NOCMA) against the SPC, Ms. Colleen Zamba. The allegations are very damning for an individual holding the office of the SPC and lack of action thereof questions the involvement of the President into the said allegations.
“We have noted that the SPC uses her position and proximity to the president to run away from responsibility of being held accountable which included shunning Parliamentary summons to appear before it and respond to the said allegations. The SPC role in the arrest and interdiction of Ms. Chizuma cannot be ignored,” reads part of FND letter.
Adds the letter, “We strongly believed that all her actions are aimed at undermining the ACB Director General and subsequent corruption fight in Malawi. Strangely, when the issue of arrest, court case and interdiction of Chizuma started, there has been state sponsorship of individuals and institutions to buttress the action taken against Chizuma.
“All these actions in our opinion lead to obstruction and defeating the means of justice where the SPC being the head of the civil services being found in the thick of things“.
Below is full FND letter to donors:
ALL FOR TARGETED SANCTIONS AGAINST PUBLIC OFFICERS AIDING, ABETTING AND UNDERMINING THE FIGHT AGAINST CORRUPTION IN MALAWI.
22nd February 2023
The Heads of Diplomatic Missions to Malawi
Various Embassies, High Commission and Delegations
CC: The Secretary for Foreign Affairs
Ministry of Foreign Affairs P.O. Box Lilongwe
The Director General
Anti-Corruption Bureau Mulanje House P.O. Box 2437 Lilongwe
Attn: British High Commission; American Embassy; European Delegation; African Union; SADC Country Missions; South African High Commission; Norwegian Embassy; German Embassy; United Nations Resident Coordinator
Dear Your Excellency’s,
CALL FOR TARGETED SANCTIONS AGAINST PUBLIC OFFICERS AIDING, ABETTING AND UNDERMINING THE FIGHT AGAINST CORRUPTION IN MALAWI.
Reference is made to our letter dated 30th January 2023 to Your Excellency’s governments and missions to Malawi. We once again write to register our dismay with the continued involvement of the state in undermining corruption fight in the country. We are appalled with the level of corruption which has brought untold misery on the lives of Malawians and poor service delivery including in health sector leading to deaths that would have been avoided.
At the material time when we wrote Your Excellences, the Anti – Corruption Bureau (ACB) Director General, Ms. Martha Chizuma had just been arrested and we were meant to believe that the charges were completely dropped according to the Ministerial statement from the Justice Minister. We were shocked therefore, to see the resumption of court case against Chizuma which was the basis of interdicting her as the ACB Czar.
We would like to commend the support and position that members of the diplomatic corps, ambassadors, high commissioners and heads of delegations of various missions to Malawi provided to the citizens of Malawi by ensuring that the Malawi’s champion of corruption fight remains to complete the mission that has started.
While we are aware that the Director of Public Prosecution (DPP) has dropped all the charges against Chizuma and subsequent withdrawal of the interdiction letter by the Secretary to the President and Cabinet (SPC), we are still of the opinion that this is not the last we have heard of this matter, as the court order of the withdraw gave room for the matter to be resurrected at any given time should the state wishes to do so or when certain individuals feel threatened.
We are appalled by the state of corruption in our country and the involvement of the state in undermining the corruption fight. Sadly, Malawi is becoming a haven for money laundering and it seems the authorities will go to any length to protect the wrong doers. To this extent we would like to implore upon Your Excellences not to relent on this matter and continue with targeted sanctions on various officials within the Government including those from the Opposition who are part of the people undermining the corruption fight in the country.
As Forum for National Development (FND) we have done an analysis and profiling of critical individuals and officials whom we think must be considered for sanctioning. While the list is not exhaustive, we would like to request that as you are doing your own analysis, also consider the following officials whom we think that further profiling must be done and their roles in undermining corruption must be examined and action taken on.
The Secretary to the President and Cabinet (SPC) Ms. Colleen Zamba
There have been serious allegations made on record to Parliament by Ms. Helen Buluma, the former Acting Chief Executive Officer (CEO) for National Oil Company of Malawi (NOCMA) against the SPC, Ms. Colleen Zamba. The allegations are very damning for an individual holding the office of the SPC and lack of action thereof questions the involvement of the President into the said allegations.
We have noted that the SPC uses her position and proximity to the president to run away from responsibility of being held accountable which included shunning Parliamentary summons to appear before it and respond to the said allegations. The SPC role in the arrest and interdiction of Ms. Chizuma cannot be ignored. We strongly believed that all her actions are aimed at undermining the ACB Director General and subsequent corruption fight in Malawi.
Strangely, when the issue of arrest, court case and interdiction of Chizuma started, there has been state sponsorship of individuals and institutions to buttress the action taken against Chizuma. All these actions in our opinion lead to obstruction and defeating the means of justice where the SPC being the head of the civil services being found in the thick of things.
The Attorney General (AG) Mr. Thabo Chakaka Nyirenda
We have done an analysis of the participation of the AG into matters of corruption and we strongly believe the AG is a person of interest and is a major player in undermining the fight against corruption in Malawi. We have noted the following actions from the AG which needs to be carefully monitored.
The AG is accused on record in the report of the Commission of Inquiry into the arrest of Chizuma that he has been delaying issuing a letter of evidence exchange with the National Crimes Agency (NCA) of the United Kingdom. The AG has not issued any clarification to these allegations raised and to us we look at this action as undermining the course of justice.
In the US$750,000 botched up fertilizer deal where government issued two payments to Bova Investment Corporation based in United States of America, and another German based company on behalf of a United Kingdom based Barkaat Foods Limited, we have noted the stance that the AG has taken, which is more of a cover up and shielding people behind the fraud.
This case is a purely money laundering and a theft issue. The people behind it planned a heist on public money and the public knows who the people behind the theft are. Ironically, the AG who is supposed to uphold the law and bring the culprits to book, has opted to appoint himself a debt collector.
What is saddening is that the AG is well aware that the money he is pretending to recover was already accessed by the beneficiaries by 16th June 2022 from the German account. The other refund purported from Bova is alleged to have been sourced locally which continue to raise the sincerity of the whole action.
The AG action in this matter is all cover up. The critical question is why is he involving himself in the cover up? During the Parliamentary hearing on the matter, the public was meant to understand the role of one Mr. Moses Khombe and to date no case has been opened against him, neither the people that signed the contract, transferred the money yet the AG sees it prudent to hoodwink the public about recovery of the funds.
We have also analyzed events surrounding the arbitrary detention of Platform for Investigative Journalism (PIJ) Managing Director Mr. Gregory Gondwe and the AG needs to explain his involvement in the whole saga. What the public was told was that the AG apologized for the whole incident. Why was he apologizing? On whose behalf was the AG apologizing for? Who ordered the detention of Gondwe? These are the questions that the AG should have been pursuing and brining to book the culprits behind this atrocious act and the action of the AG shows complicit.
The AG actions towards the continued investigation of the allegations of bribes from British businessman Zuneth Sattar to politically exposed persons in Malawi leaves a lot to be desired and makes one wonder how deep the AG involvement into the matter is. The arbitrary detention of Gregory Gondwe was linked to the stories and exposure the PIJ was carrying related to the issue. The failure or delay of the AG to issue a letter for cooperation agreement between the ACB and NCA is another matter linked to the same.
The legal advice to the government comes from the AG. This brings to question what role did the AG play in the arrest of Ms. Chizuma, the state opening up a court case against her, and the interdiction of Ms. Chizuma? Similarly we have also seen a legal opinion from the AG which the SPC and Secretary for Energy has used to undermine Parliament when summoned. To date the SPC and the Secretary for Energy remains in contempt of Parliament, yet the AG is supposed to provide sound legal opinion to the Government.
Presidential Advisor, Mr. Admson Mkandawire
Sometime in October 2022, the social media was awash with images of a Presidential Advisor Mr. Admson Mkandawire and Mr. Shyley Kondowe displaying huge sums of United States Dollars on the table. This image appeared immediately upon return of President Chakwera’s trip from United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) and Dubai in United Arab Emirates (UAE).
The display of the money was a clear sign of money laundering, financial crimes and against the foreign currency laws. The two especially Mkandawire who is the Chief Advisor to President Chakwera needed to explain the source of the money and be held accountable for the action. Sadly we have noted that the Government has not pursued this matter, Mr. Mkandawire has continued to serve in close proximity to President Chakwera.
This matter only confirms our fears that what Mkandawire exposed was a small section of a large scheme on money laundering involving government officials and we wonder how far and deep is the scheme within the Government. If the appointing authority of Mkandawire did not find any reasonable ground to relieve him of his duties while very well aware of the law breaking thereof, should we as Malawians trust our own government that it is going to fight corruption?
Your Excellences, we as an institution that focus on good governance and fighting against corruption as a vice that deters national development, we will continue to do a profile and make recommendations of officials that we believe would be of interest and be put on sanction list. We have a strong belief that until the development partners, bilateral and multilateral partners act in unison to help Malawians in ridding of the cancer of corruption, Malawians will continue to suffer as their trusted officials will continue to steal, abuse office and plunder Malawi without repercussions.
Since the system is being created to shield and protect each other especially those from the ruling elite, targeted sanctions on certain individuals would send a strong message that our partners will not continue to allow impunity, money laundering and corruption to thrive in Malawi.
This fight requires your resolve and commitment to help the majority poor Malawians in the face of an administration which now manipulates every system of government to undermine the fight against corruption. Case in point is Parliament which appointed the Deputy ACB director with serious theft allegations over his head in anticipation of the gentleman replacing Ms. Martha Chizuma. This shows the extent of how the entire government system is compromised. We implore you to seriously consider our suggestions for the sake of the suffering Malawians. We seek your serious and urgent consideration on this matter.
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