SMEDI contract row exposes cracks in DPP media operation

Malawi’s ruling Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) faces an awkward test of its anti-corruption credentials, barely a year into office, following allegations that officials close to State House used a newly-registered company to secure lucrative contracts from a state-owned agency — allegations surfacing within days of an opposition broadside accusing the party of shielding corrupt insiders.

At issue is a contract, reportedly worth millions of kwacha, awarded by the Small and Medium Enterprise Development Institute (SMEDI) to a firm called Digital Media Sniper Tech.

According to multiple sources, the company — registered less than six months ago — lists State House Media Officer Francis Kanduwa among its principals, alongside other members of the DPP’s media operation.

SMEDI’s chief executive, Kondwani Kachamba, is named as having approved the award. AC has not seen the underlying contract documents, and neither SMEDI nor State House has responded publicly to the allegations.

Sources close to the DPP media grouping allege the company was established with the specific purpose of winning government business, with proceeds to be distributed among media operatives loyal to the party.

That arrangement has reportedly broken down: Kanduwa and Shadreck Namalomba, another figure named in connection with the company, are accused of withholding details of the contract and its proceeds from the broader media team, prompting recriminations within DPP ranks.

More seriously, sources allege the company has sought to pressure other parastatal chief executives into awarding it contracts, with implicit threats to the job security of those who decline.

If substantiated, such claims would point to a pattern of political leverage over procurement decisions extending well beyond a single contract.

The controversy lands awkwardly for President PeterMutharika, coming just after UTM Party leader Dr Dalitso Kabambe used the one-year anniversary of the DPP’s election victory to accuse the administration of protecting corrupt actors within its ranks and failing to deliver the governance reforms promised at the ballot box.

Whether the allegations gain traction will depend on whether Malawi’s Anti-Corruption Bureau or Parliament’s oversight committees take up the matter — and on whether disaffected members of the DPP media team, said to be increasingly frustrated with the party leadership, are prepared to go on record.

For now, the episode adds to a broader narrative, pressed by opposition figures, that the DPP’s first year has been marked more by continuity in patronage politics than by the change it promised voters.