Attorney General (AG) Frank Mbeta has defended the appointment of Malawi Revenue Authority (MRA) Commissioner General Felix Tambulasi and Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB) acting director general Gabriel Chembezi, saying President Peter Mutharika acted within the law.
Speaking in Lilongwe on Sunday after being sworn in as the government’s chief legal adviser, the AG said no law was breached and that the appointments will be formalised once the required procedures are completed.
He said the appointment at ACB followed the redeployment of former acting director general Hillary Chilomba to Ministry of Justice, leaving the bureau without both a director general and a deputy.
“The Corrupt Practices Act provides that where there are two vacancies — both in the office of the Director General and the Deputy Director General — the President must appoint a competent person in an acting capacity,” said Mbeta.
“That is an important institution, you cannot leave it without leadership. So in this instance, the acting Director General, who was essentially the Deputy Director General, was transferred to the Ministry of Justice, creating two vacancies and requiring the President to act.”
On the MRA appointment, Mbeta said it was necessary because the institution has no board, which would ordinarily be responsible for recruiting and confirming the Commissioner General.
“Ordinarily, the board should appoint. But we do not have a board now. Because that is a key government institution, the President has power over all government institutions. That is why he appointed the Commissioner General,” he said.
However, University of Malawi law Professor Garton Kamchedzera dismissed the appointments as irregular, arguing that the President acted outside the limits of his authority and flouted due process.
Civil governance specialist Willy Kambwandira also questioned Mbeta’s justification, saying it fails to address concerns of legality and independence.
