By Vitus-Gregory Gondwe, Investigative Journalist

So, the corrupt clique discovered that Martha Chizuma, the Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB) director, was on their case and decided to send a man to chat with her over the phone; record the conversation and leak it to the public, in a typical fashion of ‘give a dog a bad name and hang him’.

Ever since that leakage, the unfolding drama has not stopped. It is suspicious that everyone, including President Lazarus Chakwera and his Commission, is ignoring a simple question…establishing what was the motive of the one who goaded Chizuma into a telephone conversation that was recorded and later leaked to the public.

The moment we understand the genesis of the decision to record Chizuma’s conversation, we will understand why this whole drama and why it is even funny that Malawians are being made to watch a make-believe charade that is pulling the wool over the public to suggest that there is an effort to fight corruption in this country.

Having had the Chizuma recording in their hands, the corrupt clique thought they had hit gold.  Ask another question, why everyone is now using the leaked audio clip to persecute Chizuma?

Ever since this matter came out, why is Government machinery protective of the other male voice in the audio recording? That should tell us of the work of the mafia at play.

If Government was seriously looking at getting to the bottom of this whole matter, they sure would have asked Chizuma who she was talking with, and then gone after the male voice and interrogated him to establish the master that sent him in the first place.

This is where it will get interesting when names will start to be named. And please stop believing whatever Government is talking about when some high-ranking officials feign ignorance about the arrest.

Even with the Commission at work, it still failed to establish the one behind the order to arrest Chizuma. They claim one aggrieved citizen in the name of Steven Kayuni lodged a complaint with the police, and the Police machine instantly roared into action with vengeance.

The Commission states that critical members of the Executive knew about the arrest, but comes short of mentioning who these people were. Possibly if we get these names, we might as well get to know the members of this corrupt clique. We could also know whose bidding the male voice in the leaked voice was out to serve.

The pattern of secrecy in failing to name names is exactly the same one that failed to go after the male voice in the leaked audio.

The question of whether President Lazarus Chakwera knew about the arrest or not is neither here nor there.

Here is why.

In August 2021 or thereabout, Chakwera challenged British Broadcasting Corporation’s (BBC) Hard Talk to check facts while expressing shock when asked about his decision to appoint his daughter Violet as a diplomat to Brussels.

Months later, Chakwera told the same BBC that he was never involved in the appointment of his daughter to Malawi’s mission to the United Kingdom, where she is working as the first secretary responsible for investments.

Surely the President’s daughter can get a Government job without her father’s knowledge, and if this is indeed true, then we can believe the President when he says he never knew of Chizuma’s arrest!

About the Author

Vitus-Gregory Gondwe is a Malawian journalist, editor and media consultant. He also runs his own social, music and business analysis blog. He is known for his investigative stories. He also writes on Business news.

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