The Blantyre Water Board (BWB) board of directors has suspended chief executive officer Yeremia Chihana as the utility body launches a disciplinary inquiry into allegations of misrepresentation, unauthorised appointments and a K500 million overdraft allegedly secured without the board’s approval.
This is the second suspension for Chihana in five months, and during the earlier suspension, he obtained a fresh court order reinstating him at the helm of the public water utility.
But Chihana claims the suspension emanates from his refusal to travel to Lilongwe with a member of the board to meet a contractor for a $13 million (around K23 billion) World Bank-funded project.
In a letter of suspension we have seen dated August 28 2026, board chairperson Stanely Chirwa accused Chihana of writing Secretary to the Treasury (ST) Cliff Chiunda seeking support for an institutional modernisation programme while claiming it had received full backing from BWB’s board of directors.
Chirwa said no such meeting took place and that it had neither approved nor been aware of the programme.
The suspension letter reads in part: “Your authoring of a letter addressed to the Secretary to the Treasury, copied to the World Bank and the European Union, seeking funds for an institutional modernisation programme where you falsely represented that the same enjoyed the full endorsement of the board at its of March 15 2026, fully aware that no such meeting took place and the board was not aware of the said programme.”
In the said letter, which Weekend Nation has seen, Chihana urged the ST to transmit a technical and policy instrument in which BWB articulates its Institutional Modernisation Programme (IMP) for the period 2026–2029 and makes a structured case for intervention and co-financing by the World Bank Group and the European Union Delegation to Malawi.
He asked that the submission, accompanied by a letter of Government endorsement, would confirm Malawi’s support for the BWB IMP and its readiness to provide the necessary policy enabling conditions and counterpart financing commitments.
It reads in part: “I should note that the reform programme described in the enclosed White Paper enjoys the full endorsement of the BWB Board of Directors, as confirmed by Board Resolution No. BWB/BD/RES/003/2026 passed at the Board Meeting of March 15 2026.
“BWB stands ready to provide any supplementary information, analysis, or technical briefings that may be required by the Secretary to the Treasury’s office, the World Bank, or the European Union in the course of their review.”
Chihana is also facing questions over his appointment of Lon Zizwe as acting director of finance (DoF); a move Chirwa argues was made without the Board’s knowledge or approval.
Chihana wrote Zizwe on August 17 2026 appointing him to act as DoF for the next two months effective immediately, and that he would be paid an acting allowance for carrying out additional responsibilities.
But Chirwa wrote Chihana in a separate letter on August 24, telling him that the appointment of executive management falls within the Board’s statutory mandate and described the purported appointment as invalid.
“For the sake of clarity and avoidance of doubt, be advised that your purported appointment of an acting director of finance is void ab initio and, therefore, invalid.
“Pursuant to the Board resolution passed on February 12 2026, Mr. Charles Msusa remains the Acting Director of Finance until further communication by the Board, through the undersigned,” he wrote.
The embattled CEO is further accused of obtaining a temporary K500 million overdraft facility from First Capital Bank without the knowledge or approval of the Board.
E-mail correspondence we have seen shows that the facility was approved on July 23 2026, and was expected to be regularised after one month.
“Accordingly, pursuant to Clause 3(d) of your Contract of Employment, you are hereby suspended from the performance of your duties as Chief Executive Officer with immediate effect pending an immediate disciplinary inquiry and further action by the Board in line with your Contract of Employment, Staff Service Regulations and employment laws of Malawi.
“For avoidance of doubt, this suspension is an interim administrative measure and does not constitute a finding that you have committed any misconduct or that the allegations against you have been established,” stresses Chirwa in the suspension letter.
In April, the Board suspended Chihana over a litany of allegations, including bypassing it in facilitating arrests of acting directors.
Last evening, Chihana claimed that the suspension emanates from his refusal to travel to Lilongwe in company of the board chairperson to meet a contractor for a $13 million World Bank funded project.
“I refused to go to Lilongwe in company of the chair to meet the contractor for the $13 million from World Bank. That is why I am being suspended. The contract is for two Water Reservoirs in Chilomoni and Mbayani, but also 6 solar stations. The contract is to be negotiated Friday next week,” he said in a written response..
In June, the BWB Employees Trade Union asked Comptroller of Statutory Corporations to intervene on the standoff between Chihana and its board of directors as the strained relations threaten operations.
In a letter dated May 29 2026, the union said its “firm position” is that Chihana and the board of directors can no longer work together in a manner that benefits BWB as an entity, its staff and the people they serve.
