By Cathy Maulidi:
Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB) Director-General (DG) Martha Chizuma is leaving office on Friday following the expiry of her contract and her declaration that she will not have it renewed.
It is unclear if government has given her a letter of intent, which would act as a preliminary commitment that it was interested in extending her services.
However, Chizuma told The Daily Times Tuesday that she had an option to renew the contract by law but opted not to do that.
“With everything that I have experienced in the past three years, I feel this is the right time for me to leave and pursue other opportunities,” she said.
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The ACB boss was apparently referring to her arrest in December 2022, suspension in February last year and other hurdles which some officials allegedly threw her way to frustrate her anti-corruption pursuits.
She said she was grateful to President Lazarus Chakwera for entrusting her with the responsibility of leading the bureau, becoming its first female DG.
“I believe that despite [facing] some difficulties during my tenure, we have accomplished a lot over the past three years, building the right mechanisms for fighting corruption. We have demonstrated that corruption is an evil that needs to be fought vigorously and fearlessly.
“I hope my successor in office will build on the work we have laid down and I hope my successor will get all the necessary support from all stakeholders,” Chizuma said.
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She added that she was leaving office a happy person on the basis of having registered “a number of achievements” during her three-year tenure.
“During my tenure, the ACB’s rate of completed investigations and prosecutions increased significantly. There were 119 completed investigations in 2020-21 to 236 completed in 2023-24 and 16 prosecutions completed in 2020-21 to 27 completed in 2023-24,” Chizuma said.
She added that as ACB head, she championed the disruption of how the bureau investigates corruption by using its powers, under the Corrupt Practices Act and the Financial Crimes Act, to pursue assets associated with those under investigation and prosecution.
She said under her leadership, ACB has also managed to forfeit to government K881 million from ‘tainted’ assets and money.
Chizuma still recounted that the graft-busting body has faced a number of challenges during her reign, including funding deficits.
Ministry of Justice spokesperson Frank Namangale said the ministry would not comment on the ACB boss’s departure.
Earlier Tuesday, some civil society organisations (CSOs) held a press briefing in Lilongwe during which they praised Chizuma for “standing firm” in her fight against corruption.
The CSOs, comprising Citizen Alliance, National Advocacy Platform, Forum for National Development and Human Rights Defenders Coalition, urged authorities to fast-track the appointment of a new DG.
“May the right individual be picked for the job. We don’t want politics in the appointment of the new DG. Let a qualified person be appointed,” one of the CSO leaders Fryson Chodzi said.
Chizuma’s appointment was initially rejected by the Public Appointments Committee of Parliament before the committee reversed the position due to public pressure.
Before becoming ACB DG, Chizuma had worked as Ombudsman during which she was credited for reportedly transforming the office.
During her tenure at the graft-busting body, she was arrested and suspended in relation to an audio recording in which she was heard accusing some officials of frustrating her efforts to fight corruption.
The arrest and suspension were later nullified, also due to pressure from the public and the diplomatic community.
