Malawi President Mutharika has new guard commander: Maganga transferred to Dowa
President Peter Mutharika has appointed Assistant Deputy Commissioner of Police, Andy Chikwapula, as the new guard commander after the removal of deputy commissioner of police Owen Maganga from State House.
Chikwapula was deputy to Maganga, who has been redeployed to Dowa Police Station as officer-in-charge and Blessings Chikwatu has now been appointed acting deputy guard commander with Dingani Njolomole promoted to be third in command (operations 1).
National Police spokesperson James Kadadzera has described the transfer of Maganga as “normal within the police service.”
While Presidential spokesman Mgeme Kalilani said the former guard commander had been recalled by Inspector General of Police, Lexon Kachama, to attend a month-long management course in Swaziland.
Kalilani said all presidential guards seconded to State House are under the administration control of the Inspector General of Police.
State House director of security Paul Norman Chisale put a positive spin on the transfer of Maganga, saying it is a promotion.
Chisale said as Deputy Commissioner of Police, he needs a Police station to head, saying posting to Dowa as Officer-In-Charge is “an honour”.
He insisted that there is nothing wrongful Maganga has committed at State House.
Maganga was appointed guard commander in 2015 to replace Duncan Mwapasa who left State House after his appointment as deputy Inspector General of Police (DIG).
In 2015 State House evicted 51 presidential guards from its precincts and were reassigned to perform other duties in various work stations nationwide.
Since President Peter Mutharika has been at Plot Number One from 2014, State House also removed Mutharika’s aide-de-camp (ADC) lieutenant colonel Fostino Gunda-Phiri and sent him back to the Malawi Defence Force (MDF) “to carry out other duties”.
Prior to his removal, several other Mutharika aides hired following his victory in the May 20 2014 Tripartite Elections left State House and were reassigned to other public departments.
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