Former Public Procurement and Disposal of Assets Authority (PPDA) Director General Eddington Chilapondwa has taken his case to the Industrial Relations Court (IRC), challenging what he calls “an unlawful suspension and summary dismissal”.
Questionable authority
Chilapondwa said in an interview this week that the initial January 2026 suspension letter was signed by Secretary to the Treasury Cliff Chiunda, rather than the board which, he argued, is the only entity with the legal mandate to suspend the DG under Section 17(3) of the PPDA Act.
Former board chairperson Jacob Nyirongo confirmed that his board left when Chilapondwa was still in office.
not tripartite. I Nation
In a February 2026 interview with Weekend Nation, the current board chairperson, Kalekeni Kaphale, also confirmed that the suspension happened before the current board was confirmed.
“There was no board until last week,” he said.
Asked for his views on the legality of the Secretary to Treasury authorising the suspension letter, Kaphale said the board “will deal with the matter going forward”.
Chilapondwa observed that Section 17(3) of the PPDA Act says,“the Authority” — defined elsewhere in the Act as the board—may suspend the director general.
“It does not mention the Secretary to the Treasury.
He said the same Act in Section 17(3) also states that the Authority shall act in a manner that is impartial and independent.
“My contract was not tripartite. It only existed between me and the board whose tenure had ceased unless, otherwise, I considered the suspension letter issued by the ST outlandish,” Chilapondwa said.
Breach of statutory limit
Chilapondwa also argued that he was kept on suspension for over five months—well beyond the 60-day statutory limit permitted by law.
He said among the suspension extensions he received was a 21-day extension letter that was inexplicably delivered to his personal residence at midnight.
He asked the court to declare both his extended suspension and his eventual April 2026 dismissal illegal, seeking either full reinstatement or appropriate compensation.
He observed that there also are compliance concerns regarding Section 18(2) of the Act, which requires the board to update the minister within 14 days if a vacancy lasts more than 21 days.
He said, in an interview: “The board has not provided the legal basis for what I considered questionable extension of the suspension beyond the statutory 60‑day limit.”
He also said when the new board was confirmed it invited him to a board disciplinary hearing but he refused to attend.
“I declined the invitation to the board for hearing and did not attend the disciplinary hearing because the process emanated from an illegality,” he said.
“The process was tainted from inception [he did not elaborate] hence, in my considered opinion, I could not appear before a kangaroo court.”
Comptroller for Statutory Corporations Stuart Ligomeka declined to comment when asked if his office received a complaint about the suspension exceeding 60 days and whether the PPDA board has written to the minister as required by law.
He said: “The person in question has gone to court so the matter is sub judice.”
Minister of Finance, Economic Development and Decentralisation Joseph Mwanamvekha, in an interview on Tuesday, said he is yet to be formally briefed on the matter.
