Since she was overheard discussing confidential matters relating to some on-going investigations in her office that leaked audio last year, Martha Chizuma has been fighting to survive another day as the Director General of the Anti-Corruption Bureau.
Chizuma, the one time people’s darling has endured a difficult year riddled with lawsuits by the people she slandered in that particular audio.
Despite the fact that President Lazarus McCarthy Chakwera forgave her wrongdoing of that leaked audio, the writing was on the wall that her days at ACB were numbered and news that the Office of President and Cabinet has interdicted her did not come as a surprise. Lawsuits against her from people whose reputations were injured by that audio kept on piling up and there was no way she was going to survive longer at ACB.
The truth of the matter is that Chizuma managed to last for a while at the helm of ACB on President Chakwera’s mercy but the lawsuits against her were becoming so grave such that at some point the situation was to be out of President Chakwera’s control the way it has happened.
Part of her interdiction letter from the Office of President and Cabinet indicates that her interdiction was effective January 31 and is in line with the Malawi Public Civil Service Commission Regulation.
It reads: “In view of this, and in accordance with the Malawi Public Service Commission Regulation 43 (3) as it reads with Regulation 40, you are interdicted from exercising the powers and functions of your office as Director of the Anti-Corruption Bureau (Grade 1/C) effective 31 January 2023 with full salary”
It continued that: “…..please note that that the interdiction shall remain in force untill the conclusion of your criminal proceedings”
From this last part of the interdiction it may sound like Chizuma may just be exiled temporarily but looking at the pile of lawsuits against her we can certainly say that Chizuma is gone for good.