Inquiry report Begs questions

There are more questions than answers on the findings of a commission of inquiry into the December 6 2022 arrest of Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB) chief Martha Chizuma, that is the verdict of some top lawyers.

Private practice lawyer Justin Dzonzi and University of Cape Town professsor of law Danwood Chirwa argue that the  report of the inquiry team led by retired Justice of Appeal Edward Twea does not address the key question of who ordered Chizuma’s arrest.

In an interview yesterday, Dzonzi said his conclusion was that the inquiry did not tackle some critical issues but concentrated on “unimportant issues” such as investigations into Chizuma’s viral audio of January 2022. He said the commission should have gone further to investigate the person who recorded it and the circumstances it was done.

Said Dzonzi: “I don’t think the person published the recording for his own purposes. This is a person who was working for someone else primarily aimed at generating information which would undermine the office of the ACB and perhaps lead to the firing of the director of ACB.

“I think the people behind that recording are those who were being investigated by the director of the ACB. As a country, we need to call that person to account. So you find that the report hasn’t done that and it’s a betrayal.”

He also noted that the decision to release the partial report on Tuesday created the impression that somehow President Lazarus Chakwera and some members of his administration were complicit in the Chizuma arrest.

Posting on his Facebook, Chirwa observed that the report is “no less shocking” as everyone expected  it to be a “whitewash”.

He noted that Chizuma’s arrest represented a gross attempt to frustrate the graft-busting agency and its various criminal investigations linked to businesspersons who implicate members of Chakwera’s government.

Said Chirwa: “It is clear now that this assault is led by the President himself, a man who has turned the entire Ministry of Justice into a circus and unleashed the DPP, the Attorney General and the police to harass the ACB director and her staff.

“By word of mouth, Lazarus Chakwera pretends to be a crusader against corruption. By action, he repeatedly reveals himself as an enabler, an accessory or possibly, an accomplice.”

The commission presented its final report to Chakwera on Tuesday this week at Kamuzu Palace in Lilongwe. The President directed Secretary to the President and Cabinet Colleen Zamba to make public the report.

However, Zamba on Tuesday night only released 22 pages of the report starting with page 50 containing key findings and recommendations. Pages one to 49 were not included, a development that on Wednesday sparked uproar on social media platforms.

The commission’s full 87-page report was released on Wednesday night after a public uproar demanding the same through various social media platforms.

On page 33, the inquiry quotes Attorney General (AG) Thabo Chakaka Nyirenda as having testified that he was approached by US Ambassador David Young on December 6 2022, the day Chizuma was arrested for a defamation complaint lodged by Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) Steven Kayuni.

“The US Ambassador had demanded the unconditional release of the DG of ACB and that if this was not done, the US Government would subject the people involved in the arrest to travel bans and impose economic sanctions on the country,” reads the report.

Ironically, Minister of Justice Titus Mvalo announced in Parliament on December 6 2022 that Chizuma was discharged unconditionally. However, Chizuma’s lawyers demanded formal written communication which was yet to be provided.

Police, on the other hand, said the ACB boss was released on police bail pending formal charging in court.

Malawi Law Society (MLS) also questioned the disparity between findings of the commission and the President’s wish to zero in on the arrest. But when contacted for its assessment, MLS president Patrick Mpaka said the society was still compiling its assessment.

In a statement issued on Wednesday co-signed by Mpaka and honorary secretary Chrispin Ngunde, the lawyers’ body said the President appointed the commission because there were matters of concern to the public.

MLS said the President’s authority was clear that the commission needed to establish circumstances surrounding the arrest and not to inquire into the conduct of Chizuma.

Reads the statement: “However, pages 50-60 [of the report] seem to suggest that the commissioners had different Terms of Reference [ToRs] from the direct question concerning the arrest as raised in the 6th December 2022 appointment notice known to the public.

“The public must be allowed to evaluate how such possible variance in the scope of assignment might have arisen or indeed there is any variance at all.”

When the commissioners were sworn in, Deputy SPC Janet Banda issued a statement and explained that the commission would investigate matters of public and national interest concerning allegations of improper conduct, abuse of office and illegality surrounding the arrest of Chizuma and all matters ancillary.

But in the findings and recommendations, Kayuni and Chizuma emerged as two top public officers to face action in recommendations by the inquiry.

The commission said action should be taken against Chizuma for her conduct on  theleaked audio where she discussed details of an investigation with a third party.

Ironically,  the President publicly reprimanded Chizuma, but cautioned her not to do it again.

On Kayuni, the commission also recommended that action be taken against him as his criminal libel complaint lodged with police on December 3 2022 caused Chizuma’s arrest on December 6 2022.

It also said Kayuni and the AG testified that they had challenges with how Chizuma was handling confidential information as well as lack of collaboration from her office on some cases.

Police arrested Chizuma in a dawn raid and took her to Namitete Police Station, about 50 kilometres out of Lilongwe City.