Blantyre Water Board sacks CEO Chihana for third time
The beleaguered chief executive of Blantyre Water Board has been sacked for the third time in just six months, in an astonishing saga that has seen him bounce between the courtroom and the boardroom since the day he took the job.
Yeremia Chihana was summarily dismissed by BWB on Monday, just as he was simultaneously fighting a separate legal battle in court over his previous removal — adding yet another explosive chapter to a dispute that has already produced a dizzying cycle of suspensions, court victories, reinstatements and fresh allegations.
In a letter dated 5 October 2026, BWB Board chairperson Stanley Chirwa informed Chihana that the board had accepted the damning findings of a disciplinary committee that investigated serious allegations of misconduct against him.
The board revealed Chihana had been formally summoned to appear before the committee and given a full opportunity to answer the charges, present his defence and produce evidence in his favour — but he simply failed to show up.
Undeterred by his absence, the committee pressed ahead with proceedings after satisfying itself that Chihana had been properly notified and given every chance to be heard.
After carefully weighing the committee’s report, the disciplinary record, the charges and the evidence, the board delivered a brutal verdict: Chihana’s conduct amounted to gross misconduct that had fundamentally breached the standards expected of a chief executive and irreparably shattered the trust between him and the board.
Citing a raft of staff regulations alongside the Employment Act and his own employment contract, BWB confirmed it had summarily terminated Chihana’s employment with immediate effect — and ordered him to hand back every piece of company property in his possession, from vehicles and keys to computers, access cards, passwords and financial records.
The dramatic dismissal caps an extraordinary run of events for a man who had barely settled into the role.
Chihana was first suspended on 27 April 2026 — just three weeks after taking up the position — over explosive allegations including making unauthorised public pronouncements, among them a declaration that BWB would provide free water in cholera-hit areas, granting unauthorised individuals access to company premises, documents and vehicles, and allegedly orchestrating the arrest and detention of acting directors without the board’s knowledge.
Chihana wasted no time fighting back, immediately challenging the suspension in court. The High Court initially sided with him, halting the suspension and granting him permission to seek judicial review.
But the reprieve proved short-lived — on 19 May, Justice Allan Hans Muhome overturned that ruling, declaring the dispute was fundamentally an employment matter that belonged before the Industrial Relations Court instead.
But the legal rollercoaster was only just beginning. In August, BWB suspended Chihana for a second time, this time over a fresh set of bombshell allegations including misrepresentation, unauthorised appointments, and securing a staggering K500 million overdraft from First Capital Bank without board approval.
Once again, Chihana fought back — and once again, he won, securing another court victory that saw him triumphantly return to office at the end of August, with BWB confirming his reinstatement in an internal memo.
But his comeback was short-lived. On 8 September, the High Court dramatically vacated an injunction that had been keeping BWB from removing Chihana from office, even as his broader legal challenge remained very much alive.
The State argued his continued presence was actively disrupting operations, insisting another person urgently needed to step in as CEO to guarantee uninterrupted water supplies to the people of Blantyre.
Now, the latest dismissal letter reveals Chihana faced a total of six disciplinary charges — with the board ultimately siding against him on every count that mattered.
Among the most serious allegations: that he unilaterally announced BWB would provide free water to cholera hotspots without board or management knowledge, allowed an unauthorised individual to drive and control a company vehicle, and caused the arrest and detention of company directors behind the board’s back.
The board insisted the sheer seriousness of the proven misconduct, combined with the immense responsibility and accountability demanded of the CEO role, meant the employment relationship had become simply untenable.
Chihana has consistently disputed the allegations levelled against him throughout the saga, repeatedly turning to the courts in his bid to cling onto the role.
The burning question now is whether Monday’s dramatic summary dismissal will finally draw a line under the chaotic Chihana-BWB saga once and for all — or whether it will simply trigger yet another fierce legal battle.
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