A legal analyst has urged Malawians to support Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB) director general Martha Chizuma saying she is all alone in the fight against corruption and looting in Malawi.
Not long ago, the trio of Chizuma, Attorney General Thabo Chakaka Nyirenda and Director of Public Prosecutions Dr Steven Kayuni was being hailed by Malawians on social media as Malawi’s reliable soldiers in the fight against corruption.
However, Professor Danwood Chirwa of University of Cape Town in South Africa has argued that the decision by Nyirenda to offer amnesty to corruption suspects and Kayuni’s support of the amnesty show that Chizuma is now working alone.
“What we are seeing is an unprecedented effort, funded by tax payers’ money, to perpetrate the most brazen obstruction of justice programme Malawi has ever seen. We will in time come to know what’s behind all these machinations. What we now know is that Chizuma badly needs the full and vocal support of Malawians to stop these men. She’s the last line of defence of the common Malawian at the moment,” said Chirwa, a fierce critic of the 60-day amnesty.
Speaking at a press briefing yesterday, Nyirenda said government wants to use the amnesty to recover money which was lost through corruption and to reduce cases which are in court. He argued that some cases drag on for years and sometimes suspects end up suing government after they are acquitted, an assertion that was supported by Kayuni.
Nyirenda also rejected assertions that his directive is undermining the Anti-Corruption Bureau by offering amnesty to suspect being investigated by the ACB. He said ACB investigations will go on. He, however, argued that the ACB director works under the supervision of Director of Public Prosecutions who in turn is supervised by the Attorney General.
Chirwa has since expressed concern that Nyirenda could be interfering with the ACB through the DPP.
“The real problem we have is that the AG has reduced the DPP’s office to his lapdog, which will pose a significant obstacle to the ACB’s commendable efforts at combating corruption and looting,” said Chirwa in a Facebook post.
