By nyasatimes
Africa-Press – Malawi. It is time to end the witch hunt.
Prince Kapondamgaga, Chief of Staff to President Lazarus Chakwera, has no case to answer. Zero. This is not an opinion. It is the outcome of a 13-month-long forensic investigation by the Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB), the very institution entrusted to fight graft in Malawi. And yet, like a country addicted to scandal, some quarters continue to drag his name through the mud — baselessly and unfairly.
Let’s be clear: Kapondamgaga’s reinstatement is not political shielding. It is justice. President Chakwera followed the law when he suspended him in May 2023, allowing the ACB room to operate without interference. Now, after exhaustive investigations into links with UK-based businessman Zuneth Sattar, the ACB has said — categorically — there is no wrongdoing on Kapondamgaga’s part.
What more do critics want?
Should we now start punishing individuals for being investigated and later found innocent? Should “guilt by association” be the new standard? If so, then every Malawian who has ever stood next to someone accused of corruption should be barred from public life — which is obviously absurd and dangerous to our democracy.
There’s a disturbing tendency in this country: we ignore due process when it doesn’t serve our drama. When someone is accused, we scream “justice!” But when they are cleared, we mutter “cover-up.” That’s not justice. That’s a mob mentality in disguise.
Even the Public Affairs Committee, a moral authority in this country, has backed the President’s decision. “Innocent until proven guilty,” they reminded us — a basic principle of justice that too many have forgotten.
Let us also be honest. If Kapondamgaga had been charged, these same critics would be demanding his head — and rightly so. But now that he’s been exonerated by the very institution they once praised, they shift the goalposts. That’s hypocrisy wrapped in political opportunism.
And for those peddling conspiracy theories, let’s talk facts. The ACB is not some toothless lapdog. It has arrested high-ranking officials before. It has clashed with Cabinet ministers. It has acted independently, under the leadership of fearless professionals. If there had been any shred of criminality, Kapondamgaga would not just have been suspended — he would have been prosecuted.
President Chakwera, for his part, has handled this matter with patience and integrity. He did not rush to protect Kapondamgaga, nor did he yield to public pressure to prematurely destroy a man’s career. He trusted the system, and now the system has spoken.
Let the man work.
Malawi is sinking in real problems — a struggling economy, rising youth unemployment, persistent inequality. This obsession with tearing down cleared individuals is a distraction from the real battles. We don’t need noise. We need progress.
To those still casting aspersions on Kapondamgaga, the message is simple: put up or shut up. Either bring new, credible evidence or accept the ACB’s findings and move on.
In a country governed by the rule of law, justice must prevail — not rumours. And in the case of Prince Kapondamgaga, justice already has.
Source: Malawi Nyasa Times
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