The Malawi human Rights Commission (MHRC) has faulted President Lazarus Chakwera for ordering that interdicted public officers in the 6.2 billion kwacha COVID-19 funds abuse scandal should not be receiving their pay.
In a statement, the Commission’s Executive Secretary Habiba Osman says the decision has no legal basis and should be aborted.
The Commission further questions why Co-Chairpersons of the Presidential Taskforce on COVID-19 have been left scot-free yet they were overseeing procurement of personal protective equipment.
Again, MHRC demands that other investigations be conducted on some Covid funds apart from the 6.2 billion kwacha.
After the National Audit Office (NAO) released a report on how Covid-19 funds were used, Chakwera ordered that all public officers whose name are in the report be interdicted without pay.
As of now, over 50 people are in police custody for allegedly misusing the Covid-19 funds.
