Police freeze fishy redeployment

 The scandal-saddled Malawi Police Service (MPS) was last week forced to withdraw a list of officers picked for secondment at the Malawi Revenue Authority (MRA) on allegations of nepotism.

Scores of police officers were scheduled to start a new lease of life at various MRA establishments in the country, but they were returned to their respective stations after police internal investigations revealed that about 34 names were dubiously added on the list.

While confirming the development in an interview on Wednesday, National Police spokesperson James Kadadzera declined to divulge any details, arguing matters of security were not for public consumption.

He said: “We do not discuss in the media matters relating to security. As such, I am not in anyway obliged to comment anything on that issue.”

However, an internal police communication, which Weekend Nation has seen, confirms that all officers deployed to provide security services to MRA across the country from March 1 2021 were withdrawn.

The communication, marked ‘important’ and titled ‘Secondment to Malawi Revenue Authority (MRA) stand-down’, was signed on behalf of the Inspector General of Police George Kainja by Assistant Commissioner Gift Chiundira, who is also deputy director of human resource management.

“All officers who were deployed to MRA to start their tour of duty on 01/03/2021 to stand down due to other circumstances,” reads the communication with reference number C/143/Vol.

As per policy, police officers deployed to MRA formations undergo formal interviews conducted by MPS and every successful officer is supposed to serve at MRA on secondment for one year.

There was no immediate reaction from MRA on what prompted the institution to reject the list after MRA head of corporate affairs Steve Kapoloma asked for more time.

However, Weekend Nation sources said MRA decided to halt the exercise and send back the list to police headquarters in Lilongwe following allegations of favouritism.

“Some senior police officers included names of their family members who did not even undertake formal interviews. And internal investigations revealed about 34 names were dubiously included on the list.

“Further, the rejected list had names of some police officers who had completed their one-year tour of duty at MRA and were supposed to go back to their respective bases,” explained the source.

MRA hires police officers to provide security services in all its formations in Blantyre, Mwanza, Mangochi, Dedza, Ntcheu, Lilongwe, Mchinji, Mzuzu, Karonga and Ntcheu, among others.

Weekend Nation could not independently verify how many police officers the tax body engages in total.

Human rights defender Gift Trapence described the police action as “retrogressive”, saying the trend is what Malawians have always fought against.

“Such nepotistic tendencies cannot be condoned. This is what Malawians have always been against because it denies eligible people opportunities for employment and career growth,” he said.

Trapence, who is chairperson of Human Rights Defenders Coalition called for “genuine and operational reforms” at the Malawi Police Service.

Early last year, the Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB) also stopped a recruitment process of customs and revenue officers at MRA after Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) supporters were appointed to various positions, also without formal interviews