The Public Accounts Committee (PAC) inquiry into the controversial Amaryllis Hotel deal took a dramatic turn on Thursday night, as chairperson Steven Baba Malondera was publicly slammed for bias and rushing proceedings when former State House Chief of Staff Prince Kapondamgaga appeared before the committee.
Despite earlier praise for his firm and probing leadership, Malondera faced sharp criticism from fellow lawmakers, who accused him of limiting members’ ability to fully question the witness.
The tension peaked when Blantyre Chilomoni Nancholi Kabula Member of Parliament Noel Lipipa openly challenged both the conduct of Kapondamgaga and the handling of the session by the Chairperson.
“I think the former chief of staff is clever to have followed the inquiry and somehow it appears to me as he had some information from this committee shared with him because of his claim. But I won’t belabor myself going through all that,” Lipipa said.
He later accused Malondera of rushing proceedings and suggested a neutral figure, such as the Vice Chairperson, should have presided to ensure fairness.
“You are rushing everyone. I think when we have meetings like these we should say at least this particular ones should be chaired by someone neutral maybe your vice chair could have chaired it because even Mulanje is asking questions you are saying thats the last one,” he complained.
In response, Malondera defended himself, noting that other members had complained about uneven time allocation during questioning.
“Let make it very clear, I have been receiving calls from honourable members that we have taken long, one of these is right here. Even yesterday, members complained including Mulanje West that we were giving you and others much time,” responded Malondera.
But Malondera’s defense failed to convince Lipipa, who continued to vent his frustration, forcing the chair to abruptly adjourn the session for in-house discussions.
“We are diluting what the public has been watching and it’s unfortunate the way you have conducted the meeting today. I am very disappointed today,” Lipipa shot back.
The fallout extended beyond Parliament, with many followers on Parliament of Malawi Facebook page backing Lipipa’s claim that Malondera showed bias during Kapondamgaga’s appearance.
“We couldn’t expect anything else from Baba, given the office he comes from,” one social media user commented.
Meanwhile, lawyer and whistleblower Alexious Kamingila took to his Facebook page to describe the proceedings as a mockery.
“On yesterday’s acting, I hate to say (for a hundredth time now) “I told you so!” It’s a charade. Akuti eeeeh Baba is serious….. kupusa aMalawi.”
