Ex-MPC boss quizzes board over dismissal

Former Malawi Posts Corporation (MPC) acting postmaster general Zachaeus Meke yesterday questioned the MPC board’s decision to fire him for allegedly mismanaging proceeds from the sale of the institution’s building in Zomba.

Through his lawyer Bob Chimkango in the Industrial Relations Court (IRC) in Blantyre yesterday and on Tuesday, he posed the questions to some former MPC board members to justify their decision. He argued that composition of a disciplinary committee was faulty.

Former board members, namely Wilkins Mijiga who chaired the operations and planning committee, Rodrick Khuleya who was audit and finance committee chairperson and Violet Jumbe, the appointments and disciplinary committee chairperson, were summoned to court to give evidence.

During yesterday’s proceedings, Chimkango asked Mijiga to state who lodged a complaint against Meke’s alleged misconduct and who were the members of the disciplinary committee.

In his response, Mijiga said the board was the complainant and that Khuleya, Jumbe, some ex-officio members and himself, were in the disciplinary committee alongside himself.

To this, Chimkango further asked: “You as a board member were a complainant, at the same time you met as disciplinary committee and you were also witnesses in the audit? So, you were wearing two hats?”

The lawyer played an audio recording of the disciplinary committee hearing where Mijiga was purportedly speaking.

Said Chimkango: “At what point did you give Mr. Meke an opportunity to explain his side? Is that the way you speak to the other board members or your employees, including your bartenders?”

In response, Mijiga said: “His [Meke] responses were not sincere to me. I don’t speak like that.”

Mijiga was quizzed on several issues, but some of his responses did not please both the applicants and the IRC chairperson Austin Msowoya who is hearing the matter.

Msowoya intervened at the top of his voice: “Mr. Mijiga! Mr. Mijiga! Let me control my court and not you!”

In the afternoon session, MPC, through its lawyer Tamandani Kadyampakeni, asked Mijiga to clarify several issues tackled during the morning session.

He asked Mijiga to explain if his voice during the hearing was confrontational.

In his response, Mijiga said that was his natural voice.

He also told the court that Meke gave contradictory statements regarding the proceeds from MPC Zomba Building sales.

On Tuesday, Khuleya also testified in the matter.

The court was expected to hear evidence from Jumbe as we went to press yesterday.

Meke was dismissed in November 2021 on grounds that while serving as MPC acting postmaster general, he misused the proceeds from the sale of MPC Zomba building.

Meke, whose substantive position was deputy director of courier services, argues that the disciplinary and appointments committee that recommended his dismissal was wrongly constituted as a member of two parallel committees dominated the hearing processes.