Some human rights activists and concerned citizens have urged President Lazarus Chakwera to reverse Attorney General (AG) Thabo Chakaka Nyirenda’s 60-day amnesty for people who benefited from corruption or theft of public funds to return their loot.

Speaking at a press conference in Lilongwe yesterday, the activists said failure to reverse the amnesty within 10 days will result in demonstrations to force authorities to fire Chakaka Nyirenda and arrest those involved in corruption.

Speaking on behalf of the group, former UTM youth director Bon Kalindo said government should not practise selective justice when fighting corruption.

Namiwa (2ndR) emphasises a point during
the briefing yesterday

He said: “If Martha Chizuma does not arrest the suspected people we are going to demonstrate, we are going to shut down Capital Hill until the affected people have been arrested. We are saying no to selective justice.”

Kalindo was accompanied by Sylvester Namiwa of Centre for Democracy and Economic Development, Oliver Nakoma of Forum for Democracy and Rights Defenders, Phunziro Mvula of Social Revolution Movement and Levy Luwemba, a concerned citizen.

According to Namiwa, the AG demonstrated clear evidence of selective justice, adding that he has also overstepped his mandate by offering the amnesty.

“Selective application of justice is very visible in that it is now two weeks after Kezzie Msukwa was arrested but to our surprise, he is still serving in Cabinet as Minister of Lands and Housing,” he said.

According to Namiwa, this is in contrast with how Chakwera swiftly acted by firing former Minister of Energy Newton Kambala from Cabinet who “until this day, remains a suspect of crime, just like Msukwa”.

He also said the amnesty is in clear contrast with what President Chakwera said in 2018 when he was in opposition that if voted into power, he would not offer amnesty to anyone suspected of theft because thieves have been giving amnesty to each other for too long.

However, during a press conference in Lilongwe yesterday, Chakaka Nyirenda said President Chakwera made that remark when he was neither State President nor AG.

He said if he were the President’s legal adviser that time, he would have advised against that statement.

Chakaka Nyirenda admitted that he is the one who proposed the amnesty in his capacity as government’s legal adviser.

Phunziro Mvula said the activists would have believed what the AG said if the move to give suspects amnesty was in good faith and “had it been done as soon as Chakwera got into power”.

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