Concerned Citizens Timely Voice (CCTV) Leader Bon Kalindo, has given President Dr. Lazarus Chakwera and his vice Dr. Saulos Chilima seven days, to clarify laws that require a public servant to stop working whilst being prosecuted by the country’s courts, or risk mass demonstrations in the country.
Kalindo is basing his calls on the fact that Chizuma was entangled in a leaked phone conversation regarding her work at the ACB.
Kalindo, alleges that his group has noted that the Anti Corruption Bureau (ACB) boss Martha Chizuma, recently appeared before the court to answer criminal charges following an audio clip that went viral on social media, where she was discussing issues of corruption with an unknown friend, which he says is a breach of oath of office.
Kalindo argues that this is the time for the country’s President Dr. Chakwera to exercise his power and acquit Chizuma from her duties, so that she would be investigated, saying the law requires someone to be relieved from duties when answering charges in court.
Kalindo since vowed that if the President will not respond to his request within the said one-week period, he will lead Malawians into the streets.
However, after the controversial audio clip between Chizuma and her friend went viral, Kalindo also led Malawians into the streets, protesting against any decision of firing Chizuma.
In the conversation, she told the unidentified person about her challenges in the fraud and money laundering case involving businessperson Zuneth Sattar.
Now details emerge that the ACB has finalized investigations into the case which is also being handled by the UK’s Crime Investigation Agency.
The Executive Director for Independent Political and Good Governance Analyst Think Tank Ken Msonda has however spoken against the move to force Chizuma to resign.
Msonda has maintained that the ACB Director was forcibly appointed to the position by public demand and he says no thieves in Malawi wanted her to pick up that job.
He says he believes that even the Parliamentary Public Appointments Committee never wanted her as it is on record that they had initially rejected her.
Msonda has insisted that the same “PUBLIC” that appointed the ACB Director should rise up in defense of her undemocratic, uncivilized, and primitive threats targeted against her removal from office by those who he claims benefited or continue to benefit from the looting of tax payers funds that some corrupt individuals stole from Malawians.
“I call upon Citizens Against Impunity and Corruption – CAIA to continue from where they left – demonstrating for a speedy prosecution of Sattar and colleagues but this time around the demonstrations should include the removal from office of the Attorney General and the Director of Public Prosecutions for obstruction of justice to expedite Sattar and colleagues’ prosecution,” said Msonda
