Malawi anti-corruption czar Kondowe under CSOs fire

A group of civil society organisations (CSOs) has demanded the immediate resignations of the Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB) director Lucas Kondowe, for what they called gross incompetence.

Kondowe: The civil society groups are entitled to their opinions

Gift Trapence of Centre for Development of People (CEDEP) told a news conference at Lilongwe Hotel on Saturday that Kondowe has proved to be not an effective leader at ACB where he said only those not connected to the government are a target for prosecution.

However, Information minister Nicholas Dausi dismissed the accusations, saying the CSOs might have personal vendetta against.

“The call is unconstitutional,” he said.

He instead asked the CSOs to disclose where they got the funding to hold the news conference.

Human rights defender Billy Mayaya said the failure by ACB to bring to book murderers of Issa Njauju points to the institution’s failure to operate efficiently and independently.

He faulted ACB’s selective application of the law in the swift arrest of opposition People’s Party interim president Uladi Mussa, over an alleged passport scam while he was minister.

Mayaya expressed concern with  ACB’s continued delay and apparent unwillingness to arrest former minister of Agriculture, Irrigation and Water Development George Chaponda over the alleged Zambia maize scam and his being found with local cash and stacks of foreign currencies in  suitcases at his home .

The recent Transparency International (TI) Corruption Index showed that corruption has worsened in the country.

The index shows that Malawi has moved up eight places from position 112 in 2012 to 120 in 2016.

Trapence said the rise is a result of lack of leadership commitment to fight against corruption, adding, what is failing the fight against corruption is lack of political will, especially by the President.

He said: “If we have impunity and arrogance coming from the highest office desisting to fight corruption, nothing in this country will move. If we are to stamp out corruption, we need real commitment from the President to walk the talk by not shielding people close to him.

“What has killed this country is that corruption is entrenched within party political systems, as such, whenever a political party comes into power, they think it is their ‘turn to eat’.  As a result, there is a lot of political interference in most of the parastatal institutions from so-called ruling party loyalists who become more powerful than the President himself.”

Trapence emphasised the need to revisit provisions that deal with the appointment and confirmation of heads of parastatals, including having an independent appointing body for the director of ACB that has no political affiliations so that corruption can be contained.

Malawi Law Society (MLS) is also on record saying the country  is losing the fight against corruption, because “there is bankruptcy of leadership in the fight against corruption, the efforts are half-hearted and lukewarm.”

MLS pointed out that institutions that are mandated to fight corruption have “systematically been weakened “and the officers charged with these functions are “highly compromised.”

Kondowe  reacted to the calls to resign by saying the civil society groups are entitled to their opinions.

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hatton
hatton
7 years ago

I really symphasize with the Njaunju family and may his soul rest in peace. Koma a Billy Mayaya, where is corruption in this tragic incident? A Mayaya mwathadi.

be humane
be humane
7 years ago

Kodi CEDEP ndi CSOs in Malawi? why Nyasa you always misrepresent your news. Everytime you mention CSOs in Malawi you refer to Trapence and his CEDEP. Trapence wants every leader in Malawi to resign. I dont support the inefficiencies of ACB but fed up with CEDEP as CSOs in Malawi and Trapence calling for everyone he is against to resign

Omex70
Omex70
7 years ago

LUCUS KONDOWE IS JUST A WASTE OF RESOURCES AND TIME AT ACB.

bisalomu
7 years ago

I wonder what Mr. Dausi carries between his shoulders.is a head or something else or an Empty cassing called skull?

If he has the audacity to ask the source of funding for the CSOs to hold a conference, why can he disclosse the source of funding for his stupid Chiefs to hold a conference to castigate PAC.

I feel sorry for Mr. Cantanclas Dausi

chilungamo chimawawa
chilungamo chimawawa
7 years ago

We thought after spending almost two thrids of his life in USA, Peter Mutharika would be able to display sense of maturity and civilization in governing the country but ALAS! Wasted years…

Chimanga
Chimanga
7 years ago

What can that intellectual weakling called Kondowe do? Zimafuna a nzeru izi osati otha ma pulani ngati iyeyu

mike
mike
7 years ago

Nkhani ya Kondowe is fueled by lawyers, greedy yakula pa Malawi… u want to bring him down coz he is not a legal practitioner!! period!! we all know that post is a political appointment, there is no way he can act against the current government.. olo atakhala lawyer mzanu mukumufunayo, nothing can change.

Wanja Njaidi
Wanja Njaidi
7 years ago
Reply to  mike

Mr/Mrs Mike, if this is the kind of thinking that we have in Malawi then I am sorry to say that this country will remain with the poor show on the governance index. If you say political appointment, you mean that the governing elite have the right to plunder in the way they want and nothing happens? Do you know that the stolen money comes from the taxes that you and I and the rest of Malawians pay to government. Are you that daft that you still support thieves even when there is overwhelming evidence of such acts? Kondowe has… Read more »

mike
mike
7 years ago
Reply to  Wanja Njaidi

Kakhanipo inuyo tione…all is being said here olo mutatani thats how things are run in this country/africa. No sitting govt gurus nor president can be touched by his own pipo he/she appoints. This is just a fact and a painful truth.

Ambuje Kukaya
Ambuje Kukaya
7 years ago
Reply to  mike

Akulu, then we can conclude that the ACB is not independent nor apolitical

Malawian Mwanavava
Malawian Mwanavava
7 years ago

In Malawi: Do we have Anti Corruption Bureau? OR we have a Bureau which encourages corruption called Advancement of Corruption Bureau (ACB) in Malawi?

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