Former Secretary to the President and Cabinet Colleen Zamba has again rebuffed Public Accounts Committee (PAC) of Parliament summons to an inquiry into the Amaryllis Hotel deal citing her medical treatment abroad and pending criminal proceedings.
Through her lawyer George Kadzipatike, the former top civil servant informed the committee in a letter dated April 21 2026 that she was still abroad receiving treatment.
The letter added that even if she were within Malawi, she would not have availed herself because the matter at hand is before the courts under Criminal Case No. 266 of 2026 between the State and Zamba.
Reads the letter in part: “We note that our client was first invited to appear before the Public Accounts Committee through a letter dated 24 March 2026 which was accompanied by summons which we received on 25 March 2026. There were no further correspondences to appear apart from your letter dated 9 April 2026.
“The invitation to appear before the committee was made weeks after our client was already seeking medical assistance outside the jurisdiction. In addition to the content of our letter of 26 March 2026, we reiterate that our client is currently unavailable as she is still attending to medical treatment outside the jurisdiction.”
In the letter, Kadzipatike submits that any engagement between Zamba and PAC risks breaching the sub judice principle by touching on issues under judicial determination.
PAC chairperson Steven Malondera said yesterday that the committee was yet to receive communication from Zamba regarding her expected appearance on April 28 2026. He said proceedings will continue as scheduled and that PAC is prepared to invoke its legal powers to compel attendance.
“The committee will invoke its powers to ensure attendance and the production of necessary information where it is required,” he said.
PAC, which yesterday reopened the public inquiry to enable Zamba and other stakeholders give their input, also faces uncertainty over Yusuf Investment Limited, owners of the hotel sold to Public Service Pension Trust Fund, which requested that its engagement be held in camera after being invited on April 10 2026.
Malondera said PAC rejected the request on April 13 and that soon after, Shiraz Yusuf indicated he was unwell and receiving treatment in South Africa. His appearance has since been rescheduled for April 29.
He said if Shiraz Yusuf fails to attend, board members of the company, including signatory Yusuf Shiraz Yusuf, will be required to appear on the same date without fail. By yesterday, the firm was yet to confirm attendance.
Despite the setbacks, Malondera commended former Registrar of Financial Institutions McDonald Mafuta Mwale for appearing before the committee yesterday despite being unwell, urging other stakeholders to follow his example.
In his testimony, Mafuta Mwale described as “very strange” the fund’s decision to proceed with the Amaryllis Hotel purchase despite a regulatory order halting the same.
He said that on November 14 2025, while serving as Reserve Bank of Malawi (RBM) governor, he directed the fund not to proceed until regulatory concerns were addressed, including risks that the scale of the investment could compromise its ability to pay pensioners.
“I have grown up in the Reserve Bank, this is the first time. To me it is very surprising and I cannot imagine any other institution in Malawi doing the same,” said Mafuta Mwale.
He noted that his successor George Partridge later ordered the fund to rescind the transaction and froze accounts for Yusuf Investment. He said he was not aware that his order was ignored as no one had updated him.
PAC has also summoned Chief Secretary Justin Saidi and National Bank of Malawi in connection with the inquiry.
Meanwhile, Malondera has filed a complaint with the Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB), accusing the graft-busting agency’s acting director general Gabriel Chembezi of attempting to interfere with the probe.
In a letter dated April 22 2026, the PAC chair alleges that Chembezi sought to influence the inquiry and clear his name, including through alleged blackmail and inducements.
“I find myself in the awkward position of reporting your patently corrupt conduct… Your conflict of interest is obvious,” reads part of the letter.
Malondera further alleges Chembezi made offers to clear former Cabinet ministers and attempted to link him to alleged misuse of K1.1 billion in the Mzuzu Airport rehabilitation project, claims he dismissed.
Efforts to obtain a comment from Chembezi proved futile, as his known mobile number went unanswered on several attempts.
PAC resumed the Amaryllis inquiry yesterday after government and other stakeholders protested the tabling of its earlier report demanding that all key stakehokders be heard. Government had specifically stated that Zamba and Yusuf Investment Limited were crucial to the matter; hence, they must be heard.
