The Anglican Diocese of Upper Shire has pegged at around K1 billion the total retirement package for its estranged Bishop Brighton

Malasa.

The church’s Board of Finance made the calculations as per requirement in Canon 13 following the six-month ultimatum that Malasa was given to resign.

However, one of the members of the diocesan standing committee, who opted for anonymity, said there are disagreements in the church as to how it will foot the bill.

Malasa: I am ready to
go home

He said members of the committee met in Mangochi on Saturday but failed to reach a conclusion on the matter.

The member said: “A conclusion was not yet reached on Bishop Malasa’s entitlements and benefits though the draft cost is available.

“The committee made resolutions which shall be communicated officially within the week.”

The church last month gave Malasa up to June 2022 to resign. In a pastoral letter read in all Anglican churches in the country yesterday, the Archbishop of the Anglican Church of the Province of Central Africa Albert Chama said if Malasa refuses to resign on his own, the bishops will have to vote for his forced resignation.

But Malasa, 46, remained defiant, saying he will only quit when the church pledges to pay him all his dues until retirement at 65.

Malasa, quoting Canon 13 of the Church of the Province of Central Africa, told the church he would not resign unless all his demands were met.

He said according to Canon 13, if he was to resign, the diocese will have to pay his benefits package which includes building him a house of the same standard as the bishop, paying him his salary of 19 years wholesome and providing him with a vehicle, security, medical, cooks and house helps up to his retirement age of 65.

“The church must commit to provide by June 2022. If they aren’t here. If they manage the conditions, I will gladly bow out,” he told The Nation on January 31.

In an interview yesterday, Malasa confirmed that according to the Board of Finance, his package is totaling close to $1 million (about K850 million).

He said: “If that money is put on the table, I will be very happy to go home.”

The bishop is being accused of mismanagement of funds, maladministration, greed, and being power-hungry, allegations he described as unfounded.

But the church, through a letter that was read in all churches in Malawi, earlier said it could not be forced to provide beyond its means.

The wrangle between Malasa and some church faithful dates back to 2017.

In January 2019, over 200 faithful from 35 out of 41 parishes of the Anglican Church of the Upper Shire sealed Bishop Malasa’s offices in Zomba, demanding his immediate resignation. n

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