Some concerned citizens protesting under the banner Mbadwa Zokhudzidwa yesterday symbolically sealed the office of the Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB) director general Martha Chizuma.

Delivering the petition to Lilongwe district commissioner (DC) Lawford Palani, the group’s leader Redson Munlo said Chizuma is now barred from executing her duties.

He said: “We have closed the offices and delivered the petition to the DC.

“In the petition, we are telling President Lazarus Chakwera that he failed to respect our demands to fire Chizuma. So, we have fired her ourselves.”

Munlo (L) holds a lock and chain for the symbolic closure of Chizuma’s office

Munlo asked the Judiciary not to allow Chizuma to take any case on behalf of the bureau to court.

“We told Parliament that they too failed to fire Chizuma upon our request. We warn Chizuma to take the message seriously. She should leave the office and never execute any duty as ACB director general,” he said.

But private-practice lawyer Bright Theu said the symbolic sealing of the office has no effect on Chizuma because the group’s action is not backed by any law.

He said: “There is no legal basis for this. Neither can this stop the director general [Chizuma] from accessing her office to do her work.

“If anyone would take further action to physically stop her from doing so, they will be breaking a law which is obstructing her work.”

The symbolic closure of the office took place at the Lilongwe DC’s office after the group was restricted from going to the ACB head office, Parliament, State House and court to deliver their petitions.

Palani, who received the four separate petitions addressed to Chakwera, Parliament, the Chief Justice and the ACB, said the group was not allowed to march to these places because it did not obtain permission to do so.

The symbolic closure of Chizuma’s office is the group’s latest attempt to force her to resign after their previous week-long vigil in Lilongwe failed to achieve the same.

In May this year, the group conducted a seven-day vigil at Kamuzu Mausoleum in Lilongwe to force President Chakwera to fire Chizuma over a leaked audio in which she discussed sensitive matters with an outsider.

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