Minister Botomani rejects calls to resign, says video clip illegal

May 1, 2020 Osman Faiti - Nyasa Times 63 Comments

Minister of Information, Civic Education and Communications Technology Mark Botomani, has rejected calls to quit over  revelations that  taxpayers are financing travel allowances for the Cabinet ministers and their entourages for coronavirus (Covid-19) pandemic assignments, when he had publicly denied the same.

On record: Botomani says video was recorded without our consent

Botomani was also filmed talking to Minister of Health Jappie Mhango before briefing journalists on Covid-19 fight about the allowances issue on how to shield the information from the public.

The ministers did not realise the microphone was on and thought they were discussing off  the record.

The video clip went viral on social media.

Asked by a local radio if he had seen the video recording, Botomani said he has seen it   – but he was furious at having been recorded without his knowledge.

“It was unprofessionally [done], someone just recorded it without our consent,” said Botomani.

Calls have been growing for the government spokesperson to resign.

“I will comment later. I am not commenting now,” said Botomani when asked if he would step down.

But a source who recorded the clip  – has since threatened to release further recordings – which  are  in the public interest.

“There’s a lot of very corrupt things happening in the Covid-19 response, and I am going to blow the whistle on a lot of them,”  the Nyasa Times source said.

Meanwhile,  HRDC has questioned the two ministers logic to swindle Covid-19 fnds when frontline health workers lament in vain the need for essentials to effectively do their jobs while they go around the country spending millions that are supposed to buy  personal protective equipemtn (PPEs) for the health providers.

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63 replies on “Minister Botomani rejects calls to resign, says video clip illegal”

  1. At the district level all government departments are represented which can over see the covid 19 activities headed by the district commissioner. These are the people on the ground who can send reports to the central government. There is no need for the whole minister to be going to the districts . Are they going to do the ground work that the people at the district level are doing? Akufuna kumapita konko as away for them to claim the allowances basi.

  2. Why do we Citizens of this beautiful country depend on leaders who cheat, lie, and steal from us?

  3. Instead of discussing allowances, talk about the evolving situation with our neighbors. How secure are our boarders?

    There is a major risk of importing cases.

  4. Thats inhuman..corrupt country..corrupt people..
    Instead of dealing with the corona virus pandemic your busy stealing money

  5. Botomani is the worst type of thief! He is a crook, liar and untrustworthy. He is the type that would engage in bestiality. He lies all the time. He needs to resign and get arrested immediately. He has stolen a lot things that everyone knows about. He is a culprit and the worst of the worst. Send him home please. He is unqualified and a huge embarrassment to the nation. He doesn’t belong to things that he is entrusted with. He is inept and unfit to hold any governmental or political office. He doesn’t know how to take responsibility. He is a pathetic individual who is propping up thieves. He has done lunatic things his whole life. He says one thing and does another. He is a disappointment. Let us all sing the “send him home” song. This short man wears tight suits that don’t look like they fit him. Suits probably cut off his blood circulation and he doesn’t think properly afterwards. He is ambitious politically but he can only bring disaster. Anything that he touches goes ablaze. He is a crackpot and a loose cannon. Please, let us stop him before he creates more chaos and damage to the operations of the government. He has zero managerial skills and zero political savviness. He sucks. He must resign and get arrested. I know that he will try to lie and lie and lie. He can sell you your own cakes with his lies. Those who trust him are fools and stupid. He is the worst of the worst. He got his jobs by favoritism. The president favored him because of the obvious. And now he wants to manipulate his way through the system and take advantage of Malawians. He has no sympathy for poor people! He just wants to see himself prosper and his cohorts steal more public funds and enrich themselves. The time is up for this deviant. He is not a good person. He is beyond rehabilitation. Who knows maybe he can be rehabilitated somehow. But there is no hope, really. His statements in interviews and his deeds in public services or activities contradict. He is full of conjecture and hyperbole. This guy has become a caricature of himself and a clown to say the least. Poor Botomani!

  6. Worse than an armed robber! He is so greedy that he cannot resign…the only way to deal with such a kind is to do what the Chinese do with corrupt public officials. . That’s the only language that corrupt politicians understand!! Look at him..so young but so corrupt!!

  7. pakamwa mpaboma.
    he is a shit.

    akukana popeza Dausi ndi Pitala nde maboss ake .
    mutu ngati khwiya

  8. The issue of corruption in Malawi is a Curse. It is as if we went to the University and got a PhD in corruption specialty. Church Bishops, Apostles , Prophets , Pastors and congregations we need to realize that this “CORRUPTION” is a Demonic Monster Curse that needs serious Prayer. Declare war against it. For it if tolerated, it will kill Malawi and also the Church.

  9. Botman it’s your own lips that are accusing you, you refused of collecting any allowances in a public, its the same public that heard you speaking contrary to your own speech as well, however, accept the public call too to step down. Respect the public otherwise it’s the same public that will demonstrate for your own contradictions. Resign peacefully before the public forces you to do so Botman.

    1. Do you really mean it? The problem is you are not smart. You don’t know what corruption is. This is not corruption. This is simply thievery.

  13. Chakwera and Chilima do not have the word RESIGN in their vocabulary. Why should Botomani resign? Chilima enjoyed benefits while not working while Chakwera absconded parliament in protest and still got paid. Botomani is working in bio-harzadous environment. Let the man get paid!!!!

    1. Chilima was available to work. His boss didn’t give him work. What did you want him to do? Give himself work?

    2. Incase you didnt know that Chakwera paid back the money and that Chilima is the VP legaly and that he is able to donate his 3months salary towards the fight against Covid19

  14. Please Mr Minister swallow your pride and humbly resign, It is only reasonable to know and accept that you have been caught off guard doing what you thought you know best. Ask what happened to Mr Brown (UK former prime minister) in the same way. Such incidences will have the consequences you need to bow down

  15. Dear Mr. Botomani, note that Malawi is not peopled with fools that you can say the clip is illegal, you can say that again, but the clip is not fake, if its fake tell us someone faked it for you but if you discussed the issue of allowances, then you are illegal in the Malawi Cabinet. So honourably resign.
    Remember you have 7 days, oh now it’s 5.

  16. DPP regime is devil incarnate. And took Malawians for fools. Where is the president with all this rot? If the two cant resign fire them ASAP

    1. Did they donate their allowances and benefits too?? Salary is a mere 40% of these people’s income. Don’t be fooled. We are surrounded by thieves. You are supporting thieves to replace thieves. Ask yourself how Chilima has gotten fat like a pig to slaughter and is able to donate 3 months salary, can you manage donating even a fortnights wages without hearing from the landlady? Osamapusa.

  19. Nanunso, don’t you see that Chilima is the one who caused relationship breakdown with his boss? He jumped ship and started his party.

  20. Is there anyone who resigned in Malawi after being declared by HRDC? Chilima technically resigned and symbolically defied to work with APM. He was receiving free money which he never deserved yet in all this, HRDC remained quiet. Isn’t this hypocrisy? After all, there is no tangible evedince to show ( bank transfers from govt. ACC to Botomani’s ACC to prove the theft in question). I don’t condone theft but HRDC should be balanced. Chakwera went AWOL in all Parliament sittings yet it was all quite from HRDC. Give us a break!

  23. SELECTIVE JUSTICE. Same as concourt ruling. What happened to ikawola imodzi nzonse zawola. Our condemnation should have started with Chilima for getting allowances and benefits without working and being insubordinate to his boss. Chakwera for a so Absoconding the August house and still getting benefits. The concourting for ruling presidential election was marred with irregularities when parliamentary elections were also held at the same time. This is why we never get far. We chose justice the same way we chose to employ our relatives and leave out qualified deserving people. WE WILL NEVER GET ANYWHERE LIKE THIS.

    1. It seems your brain is not working properly. This is why you are busy defending evil acts. Umudziwe Ambuye Yesu iweyo kuti akutsuke mmutumo nuyambe kuona zinthu monga momwe ziliri.

  24. The one who recorded should not try to blackmail the minister that he has more recordings. This was the only recording. That not withstanding, this has exposed the allowance rot in the government. These ministers are stealing big time because apart from claiming from the covid fund, they are also claiming huge sums of allowances from their respective ministries. If you see Nchacha going around, this is an allowance scheme where they claim allowances from t heir ministry as well as from the department or project that they are visiting.

  25. Akamati illegal akutanthauza chiyani? Him and the person who appointed him are a disgrace to this great nation,,,Kuyankhula kumeneku zikutanthauza kuti ayankhulana kale ndi bwana wawo and wawawuza kuti he will not do anything monga mmene akuchitira ndi Jane Ansah. What a disgrace!!

    1. In fact of course nobody in life expects MBAVA to have any guilt at all or atapha munthu ndithu. These people have the support and backing of THIEF IN CHIEF at the very top/ helm.

  31. Do not resign sir. The word resign is not in a Malawian dictionary, and even the president has never heard this word in his life.

  32. Ndikhetsamwazi Chakwera iwe ofunika sukulu kwambiri chifukwa sutha kuganiza pawekha kkkkk chilima ndi vp malingana ndi malamulo koma mr tippex ndi dpp chifukwa simutha kusiyanisa pakati pa zintchito zokhuza boma ndi chipani mfiti tippex amamumana kapena titi amamutsala chilima kkkkkkkkk koma pa Malawi mavuto alipo kwambiri 🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣ufiti ndi woipa 🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣

    1. Sukulu Sikulowa mkalasi konkha iyayi kudziwa kusambila ukamakhala mphepete mwanyanja kapena kapena kudziwa the difference between N’gona ndi N’gazi ndisukuku ya pamwamba Kupotsa onse. That being said,me being as learned as I am in formal education.I know what am talking about.

      Justice doesn’t start here nor there, it can’t be biased or only serve when it suits us. Chakwera and Chilima enjoyed allowances and benefits without reprisal, who questioned them? Yet Botomani and company are actually working for theirs. In an actual bio-harzadous environment. Where is the logic?selective justice.

      Point I am making is you castigate Dpp while trying to vote in new thieves. We keep doing this as a country and it’s taking us nowhere.

    2. What’s all this got to do with Chakwera? The man in far ahead of APM in reasoning

  33. Shameless that you refuse to resign isn’t it?. I will tell you why you refuse because African politicians never take responsibility of anything even when they are in the wrong

  34. kkkkkkk the recording was illegal? done without your conscent? so you wanted your conscent first? hahahahahha komaaaa yeaaaa apa yalakwa basi……..kukana munkakana kuja kuti mumadya ma allowance kunali LEGAL ?

    1. Does this mean kuti akukunamizira iwe Chisi boy? Manyazi to you and the one who appointed you. Thieves shall be thieves basi. You have the blessing of the chief thief. What a shame!

  35. Walakwa ndi mlonda chifukwa anakuwa osayifunsa kaye mbava … a thief blames the dog for barking … some people are only transparent when the spotlight is not on them. I wonder what else we have missed. I have the constitution’s permission to think and express myself!

  37. apapa yalakwa basi..tiyeni tingovomeleza..i thot the cameramen were invited for a briefing alongside their reporters..what kind of concent arebl you talking about Sir??

  38. What a f**king clown of a minister. Caught red-handed, and now its the fault of the video clip? You can see how thick this idiot is.

    2. U r 100% right malawi has become a joke with such clowns as ministers, just look at his face, even if u didn’t kno him or seeing him for the 1st time u can tell he’s an idiot

    3. What a good selection of words to describe a corrupt politician caught red handed stealing government money..

      “Idiot”
      “Clown”
      “Thick”

      I will add more to describe Bottom-man …

      “Dumb”
      “To$$er”
      “Dweeb”
      “Moron”
      “Thief”

      We have let off mediocre, visionless thieves to lead this country since Kamuzu.

      The lead thief was Bakili Muluzi. Its been thief after thief. Now thief Bottom-man typifies the calibre of out leaders we have allowed to manage our country. Malawi is a failed state.

  39. Chilima should be the first to start resigning for enjoying benefits without working!!! While Chakwera should resign for enjoying benefits while absconding parliament while protesting election results. When you point fingers, five point back at you.

    1. Who’s supposed to deligate work to the office of the vice president? The vice or the president? Who pays the vice president and hence who’s at fault here?

    2. two wrongs don’t make a right…mwagwidwa basi,aliyense wfunira Malawi zabwino akudziwa DPP government akubera mtundu wa Malawi, they are devils and hardcore criminals.

    4. Chikhetsamwazi f***k u ndipo u r brainless, kuganiza mopusa kumeneko ndikomwe kwathandizira kulowetsa dziko la Malawi ansi 🖕🖕

      1. Actually I think not. The problem we Malawians have is that we try to fix a flat tyre with another punctured tube every single time. You want to replace Dpp with new crooks in town. We all know Chilima is greedy, Chakwera is a blood thirsty tyrant. Why do we continue doing the same things over and over. I say let Muntharika stay until we get our Messiah.

    5. U r clueless big time, it’s not SKC’s fault he is available to execute his job but if APM does not delegate what do u expect? On Chakwela ndiye just find something else to say, u should be ashamed of urself clapping hands for thieves n Murders

      1. How do u delegate to someone who chooses to be insubordinate and sabotage any of governments moves. He is man solely out for his own ambitions.he is a man who broke an agreement between the 2. Greed got to him. All he wants is to die and kunyenga your wives and daughters. Chilima is a crook.

    8. Kuganizila mapazi Uku, if one chooses not to utilize a car it doesn’t mean the car has a problem… APM doesn’t want to utilize chilima so you want Chilima to resign on what grounds.

      You + DPP+ APM, you need need soul searching or stay Useless as you are.. Ikazakwana LA 40 tizakachita kukokako ku sanjikaKo, we are not fools

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