PAC faults remove of ACB boss

Parliament’s Public Appointments Committee (PAC) has faulted the removal of Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB) director Rezine Mzikamanda, saying there is an anomaly in the manner the President has handled the change.

Mzikamanda has been redeployed to the Malawi Supreme Court of Appeal where he is a judge. His replacement is yet to be appointed.

Former director of public prosecutions (DPP) Bruno Kalemba has also been replaced with former chief legal aid advocate Mary Kachale effective August 1 2014. Kalemba has since been assigned to the Ministry of Labour where he is principal secretary II. Ironically, one of Kalemba’s predecessors, Wezzie Kayira, was also redeployed to the same ministry in the same capacity upon his removal from the office.

Minister of Information, Tourism and Civic Education Kondwani Nankhumwa has confirmed the changes, saying government has the mandate to reassign its employees anytime it sees the need to do so provided it is convinced that the expertise of a particular individual would be useful in the concerned department.

Reacting to the changes, notably the removal of Mzikamanda from ACB, PAC chairperson Lingson Belekanyama said President Peter Mutharika has erred by not providing reasons for the removal of the ACB boss as required by law.

Belekanyama said a copy of the letter announcing the changes and served to him in his capacity as chairperson of PAC is only full of praises for a job well done by Mzikamanda.

Said Belekanyama: “I was served with the letter on Thursday and there is no explanation as to why he [Mzikamanda] has been removed. In fact, the letter is all praises for him. So, as PAC, we are wondering why such a man can be removed from his post.

“We [PAC] are thinking of inviting him to a meeting we will hold next week over the issue. But we cannot change the decision that has been made.”

Section 6(2) of the Corrupt Practices Act (CPA) provides that the President, when he or she wants to remove the ACB director, is expected to write the individual outlining the grounds, but Belekanyama observed that nothing to that effect was done.

States Section 6(2) of the CPA: “A person holding the office of director may be removed from office by the President with the confirmation of the Public Appointments Committee [PAC] for inability to perform the functions of his office [whether arising from infirmity of body or mind or from any other cause] or for misbehaviour.”

Observed Belekanyama: “But now what has happened is that, as PAC, we are getting a letter of his removal when a decision has already been done, which is not good. But we will see what we can do about his removal.”

On Kalemba’s redeployment, Belekanyama said the Constitution is silent; hence, he cannot comment.

Commenting on the developments, Blessings Chinsinga, a social and political analyst based at the University of Malawi’s Chancellor College in Zomba, said in an interview the term of office for the director of ACB should be protected just like the term of the President and members of Parliament (MPs).

He said: “The solution remains with Malawians on what they want. In the first place, why did we want to have such an office or did we simply want to have such an institution because we wanted to please our donors?”

The President two weeks ago removed Kalemba and Mzikamanda. However, the Ministry of Information, Tourism and Civic Education disputed the report first carried in The Nation, describing it as fictitious.

Both Kalemba and Mzikamanda have been at the centre of the investigations and prosecution of cases relating to the plunder of public resources at Capital Hill dubbed Cashgate.