Chaponda arrives Wednesday, appears before maizegate inquiry Friday
Agriculture, Irrigation and Water Development Minister George Chaponda who sneaked to Germany on official duties despite a court order restraining him from conducting official assignments will return home this Wednesday and is scheduled to appear before a parliamentary inquiry on maizegate on Friday.
Chaponda is expected to jet through Kamuzu International Airport in Lilongwe on a South African Airways flight at 2pm.
Representatives of civil society organisations that sought an injunction to stop the minister from working, said they would move the courts on the purported contempt of court.
Attorney General Kalekeni Kaphale said in a contempt of court case, it is an individual who is prosecuted and in this case it will be Chaponda dragged to court
Law professor Danwood Chirwa who is based at the University of Cape Town in South Africa, said Chaponda must be prosecuted if he is proven to have conducted government business, saying hus behaviour is “worrying for the rule of law and constitutionalism .”
German Ambassador to Jurgen Borsch confirmed Chaponda was invited by the German government through the German Minister of Agriculture in December for a conference in Berlin.
Government spokesman Nicholas Dausi, who is also Minister of Information and Communication Technology, Presidential spokesman Mgeme Kalilani have all refused to speak on the matter.
Meanwhile, parliamentary inquiry on the procurement of maize say they expect to grill Chaponda on Friday.
Two committees of Parliament—the Public Accounts Committee and the Parliamentary Committee on Agriculture, Irrigation and Water Development—are conducting an inquiry into the procurement of maize by State grain marketer – Agriculture Development and Marketing Corporation (Admarc) – to establish whether there was an element of fraud and corruption in the deal.
Chairman of the inquiry Dr Jospeh Chidanti Malunga said Chaponda has been invited to appear before the inquiry on Friday.
Chaponda and Admarc CEO Foster Mulumbe are grilled on corruption element in the procurement of maize.
Both Chaponda and Mulumbe denies any wrong doing.
The Parliamentary Agriculture Committee and the Public Accounts Committee which forms the parliamentary inquiry finishes its job this Friday.
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Apa pachuluka ma NOSENSE: The court is the nonsense and the media is the nonsense too. Zomwe mumatiuza sizomwe zikuchitika. There is nothing choletsa a Chaponda kugwira ntchito yawo. Malamulo amati: ndi mtsogoleli Wa dziko yemwe ali ndi mphamvu zochotsa nduna pa mpando. Osati Mzuzu High Court. Mzuzu High Court ikufunika Orientation pa Malawian Constitution. Media ikuuza anthu kuti a Chaponda anaba chimanga. Ndiuzeni ngati zili choncho? Chomwe ndikuziwa nchakuti Iwo anapatsidwa ntchito yoti agile chimanga ndipo anaguladi. koma ofufuza akuyenela kufufuza kuti anatsata njira yoyenera pogula chimangapo? Pali zoti mpaka munthu asiye Kaye kugwira ntchito apa? Za Ziii!
Chaponda and Peter Muthalika clearly shows that they clearly don’t follow rules and regulations. They think they are the owners of the country of Malawi and we others are just children/tikhale nawo/powerless and stupid as it has been manifested by their againstness to court’s judgement and order of not working as Minister nor being not be given job as the Minister.
With this. What should we do?
Tiwathamangitse Mulanje style & never attend their functions
chapponddaa is a minister. Didn’t you expect him to have a hand in the procurement of staple food to save lives? Wouldn’t you blame him if pole started dying of hunger? Come on you tumbukas. Smell the coffee please. Chaponda ndiye mumulephera. Mzuzu judges mwabibidwatu apa. Shame from head to toe!
don’t blame Tumbukas as this issue does not only affect Tumbukas but Malawiians. We wouldn’t have blamed him had he not stolen & disregarded the court order. By so doing, he knows he is in the wrong & that this man hungers for riches at the expense of poor suffering Malawians especially the common viillager. If he is not guilty, why does he not bow out to pave way for thorough investigation? Akuopa chiyani? Kapenatu iwe ndi mbuyako eti amakugawira? Mxiew!
When you reporters say ”sneaked” what do you mean? Did he not pass through the normal procedures when going out? Did he not pass through the Airport? Did he not use all the paper work needed? Chaponda did not ”SNEAK” because there was nothing for sneaking.
Hey, Satana! You comment on every issue posted on Nyasa Times, 24 hours a day! Do you do any productive work? You give me an impression you are one of those unproductive people who are just involved in gossips, who spend their day chatting away on social media, pretending they are educated! Or are you in the employ of a propaganda machinery just to comment on every issue? Your comments are usually childish and stupid! Grow up man!
Tiyeni nayeni gwape ameneyi amangidwe basi apo bii ndithana naye ndekha