The Electricity Supply Corporation of Malawi (Escom) board has suspended the parastatal’s former chief executive officer Kamkwamba Kumwenda and director of human resources and administration Chrispin Banda.
Attorney General Frank Mbeta confirmed the suspension in a WhatsApp response yesterday, but referred The Nation to Escom Board for further details.
“I am aware of the suspension. It is the Escom board that is dealing with the matter. Please talk to the chairperson for details,” he said.
But Escom board chairperson Alfred Nhlema said he could not divulge any details, including grounds for the suspensions because the matter was private.
“Escom’s employment matters are inherently confidential and contractual in nature. This means that we cannot provide any information about the employment issues concerning Mr. Kumwenda and Mr. Banda,” he said.
Efforts to speak to Kumwenda, Banda and their lawyer Bentry Nyondo proved futile.
The suspension comes barely a week after the High Court of Malawi Civil Division in Blantyre discharged a judicial review order obtained by the duo, challenging their secondment to teach in public universities.
In November last year, the Office of the President and Cabinet seconded Kumwenda to Malawi University of Business and Applied Sciences while Banda was seconded to Malawi School of Government.
Kumwenda has a fixed contract with Escom running from February 7 2025 to February 6 2028 while Banda’s contract is from January 4 2024 to January 3 2028.
In his ruling on January 13 2026, High Court Judge Allan Muhome said the rights that Kumwenda and Banda wanted to enforce were primarily private rights under their respective employment contracts and that reliefs sought in the High Court could be obtained in the Industrial Relations Court.
In December 2025, Chief Secretary to the Government Justin Saidi also suspended Higher Education Students Loans and Grants Board CEO Prince Phwetekere who twice refused to take up his secondment to Domasi College of Education as a lecturer.
