Who is calling the shots on Chizuma?

 It has become apparent that there is a clique working to frustrate the fight against corruption. No matter what, this team wants Anti- Corruption Bureau (ACB) director general Martha Chizuma to go. The January 2022 leaked audio, it appears, is a trap to finish off Chizuma. But in all this President Lazarus Chakwera has a final say. SUZGO CHITETE writes

Following Chakwera’s address on January 24 2022 in which he indicated that he had forgiven Chizuma, it seemed like there was total closure on the issue of the leaked audio. Surely, the ACB director general learnt her lesson; that was extremely unprofessional. But she is only human and bound to make mistakes.

Of course the appointing authority, even with this offence, looked at a bigger picture that Chizuma was the right person for the job. She has got the right mental strength to fight corruption. For this reason the President forgave her.

But even after this forgiveness, it appears Chizuma remains vulnerable and the recent suspension orchestrated by the secretary to the president and cabinet ColleEn Zamba reveal the hidden agenda and probably people behind the plot to deal with Chizuma. What a coincidence; in a day the ACB planned to effect some arrests—the letter of interdiction was handed to her. The same happened last year that on a day the ACB planned some arrests, the DG was arrested first.

One would be forgiven to strongly believe that the President has an idea of who is behind this scheme to deal with Chizuma. If he does not know then we have got to be worried that something is wrong. We have a whole National Intelligence Service (NIS) that is supposed to feed the President with information on potential threats to his administration.

In his January 24 2022 address, Chakwera described those who recorded the audio as “evil forces”.

Said the President: “I, therefore, want those evil forces that recorded her to know that neither I nor Ms. Chizuma are moved by their efforts to derail my agenda to rid Malawi of corruption. If you thought that making this recording would force me to fire her, you better think again”.

Reading between the lines it is quite clear to the President that the recording was a trap to have Chizuma fired. One would hope that the President would have invested some energy to find out who these forces are, who are fighting against his will to stamp out corruption.

The President further said: “And if you thought that you can use Ms. Chizuma’s work or improper comments on that audio to attack me and get me out of the way, you better think again. You may have gotten to the ACB director this time, but you can never get to all of us who are fighting this fight in different parts of the government. We will never retreat and we will never relent”.

Chakwera really seemed angry and looked like someone who knows the schemers. Actually, the Edward Twea Commission of Inquiry the President instituted to investigate Chizuma’s arrest named the man who recorded her.

But what raises more questions is total lack of interest to get to the bottom of this issue; what is happening to this man? Who leaked it and what was the motive? In this speech the President should have shown commitment that he will deal with evil forces that are derailing his agenda.

The President heard from Chizuma who authenticated the audio. It would still be within his interest to get to hear from the other person who is well-known.

The lack of interest to expose the force behind this audio has given credence to speculation that some of the President’s political henchmen could be involved or indeed the President himself.

In his latest address on the Commission of Inquiry report, Chakwera reiterated his stand that Chizuma is going nowhere.

“I stand by my decision not to fire Mrs. Chizuma a year ago and I stand by my choice of her as my champion against corruption today” said the President in another assuring tone. But one would easily dismiss these statements as public stunts otherwise the suspension should not have been effected. The bureau is already in the middle of a thick bush of cases and the suspension of the director only works to derail this good effort.

If indeed the President wants Chizuma to be in office, then he ought to ensure that she is protected from this emotional torture. But this is not the case. Police had to arrest her in a rather cruel way. Interestingly, the police also had the audacity to defy the President’s order to have Chizuma’s charges dropped in the recent case involving former Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) Steve Kayuni.

This says something that the evil forces are more powerful than the President. If indeed the President is detached from the scheme, all this should have been stopped.

There was also something from the President’s latest speech which really is an issue of concern. It appears, in a way, that somehow Chakwera either knowingly or unknowingly empowered the evil force to fight Chizuma even more.

Said Chakwera: “But I have never said this means no one else is allowed to bring a case against her for their injuries. That will be unconstitutional…in this country everyone has a constitutional right to bring a case against anyone…I would never obstruct any citizen from seeking court relief for injuries they suffered even for something I myself has forgiven”.

The President further said Chizuma was at liberty to sue the person who recorded her as this was within her constitutional right. Absolutely right! But why are State agencies such as police more interested in Chizuma’s wrongdoing and not the other party?

Professor of law at the University of Malawi (Unima) Garton Kamchezera, writing on his Facebook page, shared some good insights which should have either excited the office of the DPP and Police.

“Why did the several legal minds tell the President that the leaked audio recording contained enough information to justify her removal as director general of the Anti-Corruption Bureau but not the man whose voice is heard on the recording needed to be investigated for a criminal offense?

Donors have their eyes wide open on this issue. The Commission of Inquiry report suggests that some donors were to punish Malawi if charges against Chizuma were not dropped. This should worry the President. His anti-corruption drive earned him donor confidence but it appears the confidence levels are now going down.