Good riddance Martha Chizuma! No more of her at ACB as her contract expires this Friday

Anti-Corruption Bureau Chief Martha Chizuma won’t renew her contact as it expires by Friday, 31st May, 2024, that’s according to local reports.

On Tuesday Morning, Zodiak Radio reported that the Chizuma won’t review her contract and that the Bureau is in financial challenges, including huge debts and staff shortages.

 

However, it has transpired that Chizuma wrote OPC asking for extension of her contract to which she got a resounding NO.

 

Chizuma has been vocal in the fight against corruption and in 2022 was arrested due to a leaked audio, as she was heard talking with an unknown person about how some churches, judges, lawyers and government officials were trying to block her effort to handle corruption cases involving British-based businessman, Zuneth Sattar.

 

Her arrest came a few days after the Anti-Corruption Bureau arrested Malawi’s Vice President Saulos Chilima. Chilima was accused of receiving payments amounting to $280,000 and other items from British businessman Zuneth Sattar in return for awarding Malawian government contracts, the charges which the Director of Public Prosecution- DPP has recently dropped.

 

Though her charges were dropped, Chizuma were supposed to be charged with making a speech capable of prejudicing a person against a party to judicial proceedings, contrary to Section 113(d) of the penal code, and making use of a speech calculated to lower authority of a person before whom a judicial proceeding is being heard.

 

Second charge was on allegations that Chizuma’s statement in the leaked audio suggested that High Court of Malawi judge Simeon Mdeza received a bribe while handling a case involving Ashok Kumar Sreedharan, an alleged accomplice of businessperson Zuneth Sattar who is accused of corruption.

 

Many foreign donor countries and local Human Rights groups condemned the arrest of Chizuma then, and advocated not to charge her, but today we don’t know how they will react after she steps down.

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