Workers at Department of Immigration have accused their Director General Brigadier General Charles Kalumo (retired) of incompetence and abuse of office, saying his conduct is ‘Zinjathropic’ and counterproductive.
Kalumo who is a retired Malawi Defence Force (MDF) soldier, was appointed as head of the Immigration Department in 2022 by President Lazarus Chakwera.
Since his appointment, there have been complaints from workers over his conduct. Recently, he redeployed several senior officers at the Department of Immigration.
Angered by the issues, commissioner for Immigration and citizenship services Stanlake Kalimanjira has written a letter addressed to the parliamentary committee on defence, the principal secretary for homeland security and the director general of immigration.
In the letter, Kalimanjira says Kalumo made it clear after being appointed that he would redeploy any staff member he chooses and no one would challenge him.
On 30th June this year, Kalumo announced names of officers to be redeployed but it is not clear as to which criteria he used raising suspicions that he was fed with lies.
“I can guarantee that he has never seen nor interacted with some of the officers he has recommended for the said redeployment. It can only be concluded that he is being fed gossip with no defense against the redeployed officers. Occasionally, he has repeatedly said that he does not even know some of the officer on the list of redeployment and why they were on the list,” reads part of the letter.
It adds that some officers have been suspended without due process and only after verbal directives from Kalumo.
The letter accuses Kalumo of bypassing approval processes for the passport application process and granting citizenships to foreigners without following the due process.
According to Kalimanjira, the immigration department has currently no direction on passport services.
“The department is struggling to find a sustainable solution regarding passport services. There is no future in sight. Instead of calling for a management meeting to discuss possible alternatives he has remained quiet,” reads part of the letter.
The letter furthers says that Kalumo demands staff at Immigration to apply for leave in order to attend funeral ceremony for fellow officers. He is also accused of making insensitive remarks against the dead.
“This is deplorable, counterproductive and zinjathropic. By all standards the Office of the Director General is a highly esteemed one that cannot be associated with such defeciences in moral campus,” reads part of the letter.
Kalimanjira has since demanded that the redeployments implemented by Kalumo be suspended pending an inquiry into Kalumo’s management of affairs at the Department of Immigration.
