Whistleblower and activist Alexious Kamangila has been reported to the Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB) and the Malawi Police by Public Accounts Committee (PAC) chairperson Steven Baba Malondera Kamsiyamo in relation to the Amaryllis Hotel inquiry.
According to a formal complaint, Kamsiyamo accuses Kamangila of “corruption overreaches”. Kamangila has thus reported to the ACB and law enforcement authorities for further investigation.
“On 3rd April 2026 at 8:15 a.m., I received a WhatsApp call from Mr. Alexious Kamangila, who urged me to clear you in the Inquiry. It was clear to me that he was your emissary. When I refused, Mr. Kamangila declared me as his ‘enemy’ and threatened to fight me and PAC publicly to ‘bring me down’ and delegitimise the work of PAC,” alleges Kamsiyamo.
He further claims that the matter escalated after the call:
“After abruptly cutting the call, he then sent me a message asking me to distribute the draft Report of the Inquiry into the Amaryllis transaction to the President, Minister of Justice, any person within MCP whom I trust, and to him in case I am arrested, killed or indeed in case my gadgets are destroyed. I read but did not respond to his message because at that stage it was unethical for me to distribute the Report as it had not been tabled in the National Assembly yet.”
Kamangila, known for his outspoken activism and whistleblowing on governance issues, has in the past positioned himself as a critic of corruption and public sector misconduct. He recently turned the tables on Kamsiyamo, reporting him to the ACB over allegations that he received money from a businessperson in Lilongwe to influence the outcome of the report.
The latest development raises fresh questions about credibility on both sides, especially as the two figures trade accusations in the midst of a high-stakes parliamentary inquiry.
The Amaryllis Hotel scandal has already implicated several high-profile public officials. Those named include former Secretary to the Office of the President and Cabinet (OPC), Colleen Zamba; former State House Chief of Staff, Prince Kapondamgaga; and former Director of Legal Services at OPC and Chairperson of the Public Service Pension Trust Fund (PSPTF) Board, Chizaso Nyirongo.
The current ACB Acting Director General, Gabriel Chembezi, has also been named in the broader controversy. He is accused separately of attempting to influence the same parliamentary inquiry and has also been reported to the ACB.
Chembezi is among the officials linked to the Amaryllis deal, having previously served as a lawyer for the hotel and reportedly participating in a key meeting on November 17 where officials deliberated on the acquisition. Despite the controversy, he is yet to be fired or suspended by President Peter Mutharika.
While appearing before the Parliamentary committee, Chembezi told lawmakers that the ACB had not found evidence of criminal wrongdoing in the K128 billion purchase of the Amaryllis Hotel by the PSPTF. However, the bureau later made a U-turn following public outcry and mounting evidence that emerged during the hearings.
The scandal cuts across administrations, with links to both former President Lazarus Chakwera’s tenure, when the process began, and the current administration of President Peter Mutharika, under which the acquisition was finalised.
The controversial deal, valued at K128.7 billion, has sparked outrage after independent valuations reportedly placed the property at around K48 billion, raising concerns that the pension fund may have paid nearly three times its actual value.
As the situation unfolds, attention is now on how both the ACB and the Malawi Police will handle the allegations, especially given the sensitivity of the case and the high-profile individuals involved.
Efforts to obtain a response from Kamangila were not immediately successful at the time of publication, while Malawi24 is also seeking comment from the ACB and Gabriel Chembezi.
The development places the country’s top anti-corruption body under intense scrutiny, as questions grow over the integrity of an institution tasked with fighting corruption.
