CSOs vow to move from ‘tweets to streets’ to push for Mutharika’s ouster: Malawi leader says its ‘mission to destabilise’
Civil society organisations (CSOs) under the banner of Human Rights Defenders (HRD) have said they are mobilising Malawians to stop clicktivism on social media and go from “tweets to streets” demand for President Peter Mutharika’s resignation, saying the Malawi leader and prevent the mass protests if he responds in person his alleged involvement in the Malawi Police Service (MPS) fraud.
A leaked Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB) document indicates that Mutharika was involved in a K2.3 billion MPS and Pioneer Investments supply deal, where he pocketed K145 million received from the supplier into a Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) account for which he is the sole signatory.
One of the civil society leaders Gift Trapence said the civil rights leaders met over the weekend when they agreed that should the President fail to respond, massive protests should be organised.
“We have given him ample time to respond otherwise we will be back on the streets,” said Trapence.
The HRD also called for an amendment to Section 91(2) of the Constitution which provides a sitting President immunity from prosecution.
However, spokesperson of 13 opposiiton parties ,Kamuzu Chibambo, who is also People’s Transformation Party (Petra) president, said calling for Mutharika’s resignation was a non-starter because he has already pleaded innocent.
Chibambo who is a practising lawyer said their only hope was for members of Parliament (MPs) to move a motion of impeachment in the House.
ACB has been investigating a Malawi police food supply contract, worth around 2.8bn kwacha that was awarded to a firm owned by businessman Zameer Kareem, called Pioneer Investments.
The report alleges that the head of finance of Malawi’s police, Innocent Bottomani, and Karim had “connived” to award Pioneer Investment a contract to provide 500,000 food ration packs.
Days after the contract was signed, Pioneer Investment allegedly asked for a change to the agreed price from 2.3bn kwacha to nearly 2.8bn – the report says the change was fraudulently approved by Bottomani.
When Karim was paid for supplying the food ration packs in 2016, he allegedly deposited 145m kwacha into a DPP bank account that is reportedly managed by President Mutharika.
Both Karim and Bottomani have denied involvement in the alleged fraud.
President Mutharika has since accused the international donor community of trying to recolonise Malawi by sponsoring some CSOs to destabilise his government.
Mutharika claimed he is aware of how money is changing hands between members of the donor community and some CSOs on a “mission to destabilise” his government..
Responding to accusations that the CSOs are being sponsored by donors to destabilise the country, Trapence laughed off, saying to the contrary, it was Mutharika who was destabilising the country.
“This is just to divert people’s attention. He should just respond to issues that we are raising,” he said.
He said the CSOs have always fought for good governance, transparency and accountably.
US ambassador Virginia Palmer and British High Commissioner Holly Tett have given the CSOs the diplomatic backing that they play an important role in providing social services and in helping to hold governments and development partners to account
Nyasa Times has consistently been reporting about the e interest claim controversy by Pioneer Investments until the local press picked it up which prompted a public inquiry by the parliamentary oversight committee and then the ACB launched its investigation.
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Ine pa K145,000,000 paja atangondigairako ka K20,000,000, basi wandidyetsa chibanzi! Basi, ndasiya!
You know what would be stabilizing, for a change?
If the CSO listed who funds them, organisation by organization, and amount by amount. This should be public information, because it is in the public interest. And don’t stop there: the CSOs’ expenditures should be itemized by year. You’d think they would be open to this in the interest of openness! But just watch them reject this idea stat.
Why don’t their foreign funders (you said USA and Britain) push them on this front, if there are no ulterior motives?
These specific CSOs (we know them well) are always trying to punch above their weight, while being politically compromised. The government should, and one day in future, one government will come down hard on them. Use the hummer to kill the ant – overkill, we don’t care.
Atikwana ndipo akuchepa!
Impeachment will not work because MPs will be bought to protect Mutharika by absenting themselves or vote against impeachment. Memories of the 50+1 vote are still fresh. The path by the CSOs is the right one that needs our support.
CSOs thats what they know making noise while they in their houses. They cant go out and interface with ppo. CSOs are non governmental organizations and as the name implies they do not have any knowledge on how governmnent runs. A Trapece inkani ku nsewuko mutenge boma mumpatse Chakwera somebody who is failing to build his party but busy holding conferences in shade at mcp head1/4s naganiza kuti adzalowa mboma ohhoo mwauponda. DPP ili busy day and night holding rallies ndiye akadzawina mudzati abera ogggoooooo ine chisoni anzanganuuuuuuuu!
Tiyenazoni. Mukatopa munena. Malawi adapenya. Pano tikukana kukalembetsa coz mumagotigwiritsa ntchito ngati nkhwagwa zikakuyendelani nkutiyaya. Malawi shall always be Malawi. God is rewarding politics of hatred with shame. Mukanyozanyoza mau angawa mudzawakumbukira.
are the CSOs clean from there iniquities
and who will remember there iniquities?,
is it not The Lord God ?
don’t go on blinding the innocent souls of Malawians because of your injustice.
our King is coming soon,
He is righteous ,and just ,and kind and loving King, King of Kings the Alpha and Omega. He is coming soon.
Thats why this thing called Chibabmbo loses. He is against the people and busy looking for money! Come rain come sunshine, Chibambo can never win! This Mutharika thing must go!
Argue from learned position and not from a disgruntled one. Chepetsani ma jealous wo a Trapance ndi a Mtambo.
Paja a Kamuzu Chibambo nawo ngokubaaaaa!Si aja anawamanga aja chifukwa chokuba komweko?Lero akuti nganzeru.Munthu wakuba amakhala wanzeru?
A decent and noble head of state should have resorted to resigning quietly than face public scrutiny and rebuke. There is obviously trust deficit between the people and the president and highly so. Our head of state has made serious strategic and tactical moves bordering on insanity. If CSOs have reached a point where a head of state is game then you know……time is up!. If citizens cannot trust a head of state with their hard earned money, then what is the point of still holding the post. Professor Peter Mutharika, the social contract you signed with the public in 2014 has been broken. You better re-instill public trust and denying wrongdoing isn’t going to cut it Mr President. You have put yourself in a very precarious position where your integrity is now being questioned. As a head of state, please never put yourself in such compromising position unless you indeed are a thief.
ife sitimatcha nao. What benefits do we get out of this….Whether money has changed hands or not thats none of our concern. even you Trapence you are not clean. That much you know. we are about to put your hidden cards on table. you think we dont know you. WATCH OUT SHORTLY ON THIS VERY SAME PAGE.
Zauchitsiru, why can’t you just wait for 2019 and mobilize people to vote for your choice. Munayamba kale tikukuziwani
Listen to this nonsense from a lawyer called Chibambo that because Muthalika has pleaded not guilty he cannot resign!!!! my foot. Malawian lawyers at their best. One can resign to pave way for investigations so that he or she is proved innocent. so even Botomani should not be interdicted because he has pleaded not guilty?
Can’t you get the sense of what Kamuzu has said, it not about law, but language as well. If someone has said I am innocent why should he resign? For being innocent?
Very true brother a lot to be desired by these Malawian trained lawyers, he is talking of impeachment while he knows how money changes hands in those circumstances by our members of parliament. It is only MCP and Lucius Banda who can support the impeachment process and you know that they cant succeed. The only way to deal with these thieves is next year to vote them out through the ballot and then they will be able to answer all this mess as they have taken this country and Malawians for granted.
You have not understood the context of Chibambos statement.
Chibambo is saying because Muthalika has put himself in a frame of mind that says he has done nothing wrong, he is unlikely to resign.
Its not about Malawian layers its about Malawians capacity to read for understanding.
Malawian lawyers have brought the entire global legal profession into disrepute. The quality of lawyers UNIMA is churning out is suspicious. They seem to swim in corruption themselves in order to survive. Even those who have qualified from the best universities in the world have joined the fray. Every time any one of the so called lawyers opens their mouths they seem to be incoherent and utter pure nonsense. I am sure a Standard 7 pupil from Uganda can put together better arguments than most of our lawyers. It’s a shame really.
Mr Chimanga, please get the point ,he ment that it’s only through impeachment , for the president to be hold responsible since he is denying that he benefited from this dill