Shake up in Malawi Immigration Department: Medi transfers top officers

Director General of Immigration and Citizenship Services Masauko Medi has transferred some top officers within the department with Chief Immigration Officer for Central Region Mrs Martha Mapemba being moved to Mchinji Immigration Office.

Mapemba has been posted to Mchinji as officer –in-charge, while Mr S. Kalimanjira, who was Principal Immigration Officer, is now the acting Regional Immigration Officer (Centre).

A communication dated January 14 2019, which Nyasa Times has seen, also indicates that Chief Immigration Officer Mr Yesaya from Mchinji Immigration Office has been transferred to Regional Immigration Office (Centre).

The transfers include the Principal Immigration Officer from Kamuzu International Airport immigration office, Mr Mwanganda, has been moved to be deputy regional immigration office (North).

Mwanganda has been replaced by Mrs C Gumbo who was Principal Immigration Officer from Karonga Immigration Office and will now be Officer-In-Charge at Kamuzu International Airport immigration office.

This is the first major shake-up in the Department of Immigration and Citizenship Services since Medi cemented his post as Director General.

Sources say the transfers come amidst fears of leakage of “sensitive procurement documents” in the department.

But in the communication, the department said “the exigencies of service” has necessitated the transfers.

Medi is on record to have declared when he appeared before Parliament’s Budget and Finance Committee that corruption was rampant at his department and that several officers were facing criminal charges.

Before heading the Immigration Department in 2015, Medi was Senior Deputy Commissioner of Police responsible for community policing and rural patrol based at Police Headquarters in Lilongwe. He replaced Hudson Mankhwala in July 2012.