Police shield Immigration offices over Kalumo ouster

Malawi Police Service officers yesterday camped at the Department of Immigration and Citizenship Services in Blantyre to foil a planned sit-in to push for the dismissal of director general Charles Kalumo.

At least 10 uniformed officers, some of them armed, were seen outside the Immigration headquarters while a police vehicle filled with other officers made regular patrols around the area.

In an interview yesterday, South West Region Police spokesperson Joseph Sauka justified the deployment to Immigration offices yesterday, saying police do this “depending on information on the ground”.

However, he could not elaborate on the information the police had about the Immigration headquarters.

Said Sauka: “Strategically, we thought it wise that we should operate from there to tighten security at Immigration headquarters.”

One of the Immigration officers confided in The Nation that police were at the site by 6am.

The officer said some members of staff at Immigration headquarters were expected to be served with interdiction letters for pushing for the resignation of Kalumo, but the staff demanded that Kalumo should serve the letters in person.

The police presence did not affect the department’s operations as some Immigration staff were seen working while others appeared idle as passport printing is yet to resume in Blantyre. The police officers left the premises at around 2pm.

Both Kalumo and Minister of Homeland Security Ken Zikhale Ng’oma did not pick up our calls on several attempts.

Immigration national spokesperson Wellington Chiponde, on the other hand, referred the matter to police on their presence.

On Monday, a group of Immigration officers presented a petition to the Ministry of Homeland Security demanding Kalumo to resign in 10 days.

Spokesperson for the workers Charles Chisi told The Nation on Tuesday that they want Kalumo fired because he treats officers like his children and has destroyed the department.

Kalumo, who was appointed Immigration director general in 2022, has lately come under fire for the passport mess following the hacking of the passport system in April this year.

Passport seekers also demanded that President Lazarus Chakwera fire Zikhale Ng’oma over delays to resume passport printing.