Anti Corruption Bureau director, Martha Chizuma, faces a host of lawsuits from some of the people who she injured in the leaked phone call last month. She is also likely to be arrested for contravening laws that guide the conduct of her office.
Sources have confided in Malawi Gazette that one of the people filing a lawsuit is Judge Simeon Mdeza who Chizuma directly attacked for aiding the release of Ashok Nair from detention.
Ashok, who is the contact person in Malawi for Zunieth Sattar, was arrested in connection with alleged fraudulent land deals. The High Court released him weeks later when his co-accused, former Lands Minister Kezzie Msukwa, filed for judicial review.
In the alleged leaked phone call Chizuma told the other interlocutor that the ACB lost the case on Ashor Nair’s judicial review because the Judge had received bribes from Zunieth Sattar.
“The learned judge feels aggrieved by what Chizuma said in that recording. The accusations have damaged the judge’s standing in society. No wonder he has since recused himself from the case because he feels that his continued participation will have perceived bias in the eyes of the public,” said the impeccable source.
In the phone call Chizuma also repeatedly claimed that Sattar has invested $10 million to bribe anyone who wants to stand in the way.
There is also a strong hint that the ACB director might also get arrested for contravening the Corrupt Practices Act (CPA) through her conduct.
In the aftermath of the phone recording, legal experts indicated that Chizuma is also likely to be picked for contravening her own oath of secrecy as per CPA (Oath of Secrecy) Regulations.
According to the Corrupt Practice (Oath of Secrecy) Regulations, any officer who reveals any information shall face the long arm of the law.
“Any officer or consultant in the service of the Bureau who (a)except as a witness in any count or in pursuance of his duties directly or indirectly reveals to any unauthorized person or otherwise the contents of any document, communication or information whatsoever which has come to his knowledge in the course of his duties as such officer or consultant; (b)makes use for his own purposes, any knowledge acquired from such document, communication or information, shall be guilty of an offence and liable, upon conviction, to a fine not exceeding K50,000.00 and to a term of imprisonment of five years,” reads Section 4 of the regulations.
Reports about her impending arrest have awoken her social media base, a tool she has used consistently to garner public sympathy.