The United States has expressed its «deep concern» over its «campaign of intimidation» against the head of the country’s anti-corruption agency, Martha Chizuma, after a court overturned the suspension of her duties ordered by the authorities.
The U.S. Embassy in Malawi has stressed in a statement that the Malawi government’s actions «have seriously damaged the credibility of its fight against corruption» and criticized the prosecution’s appeal of the ruling on Chizuma’s reinstatement, which was also rejected.
«These actions by senior officials come after the director general (of the Anti-Corruption Bureau) was arrested in December in the middle of the night during an armed raid by the Police.» «Since then, none of those responsible for carrying out or authorizing the arrest have been held accountable,» he has lamented.
Thus, he has stressed that after Chizuma’s arrest, later released, «the government set up a commission of inquiry that not only generated an unbalanced report, but failed to address the violation of the CEO’s human rights.» «Afterwards, the state brought charges against her,» he added.
«As a democratic partner, the U.S. Embassy expects the Government of Malawi to maintain an active fight against corruption, not to launch a campaign of intimidation against anti-corruption chiefs,» he said.
In this sense, he indicated that Washington has maintained contacts with the authorities of the African country to «renew the commitment to the anti-corruption fight», although he regretted that «these efforts have not yielded results».
«Our commitment to Malawi’s development depends on trust that Malawi will use its public resources, including development funds, in a transparent, fair, and accountable manner. These recent actions undermine the credibility of the Government of Malawi’s stated commitment to fighting corruption,» he reiterated.
The government’s decision to suspend Chizuma came amid controversy over audios leaked in January 2022 containing statements by him on several cases, in which he claimed that several officials, including now former attorney general Steven William Kayuni, were damaging anti-corruption efforts.
Malawi’s president, Lazarus Chakwera, has publicly defended Chizuma against the allegations against her and in January ratified her in office despite the content of the recordings, adding that «Chizuma has a constitutional right to file a lawsuit against the person who recorded her statements against her will.
Chakwera won in the 2020 elections, which were held after the 2019 presidential election — in which former president Peter Mutharika won re-election — was annulled by the courts for irregularities. In the aftermath, he vowed to fight corruption in the country and called on the judicial apparatus to «do more to end the culture of corruption and selective justice.»
Source: (EUROPA PRESS)
