The Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB) is still probing the Football Association of Malawi (Fam) despite signing a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the national football governing body, Times Sport has learnt.
ACB and Fam unveiled the MoU last week, at a time the anti-graft institution indicated that it was investigating the local football mother body.
The bureau’s principal public relations officer Egrita Ndala said signing a MoU with ACB does not exempt the body from being investigated.
“The signing of Memorandum of Understanding between the bureau and Fam, let alone any institution, does not mean ACB will not investigate alleged corrupt people and corrupt practices in such institutions. ACB has MoUs with institutions which it has also investigated and prosecuted,” Ndala said in an email response.
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She clarified that the MoU with Fam is specifically regarding disseminating messages using the local football governing body platforms.
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“It also involves establishing corruption resistant systems in Fam and capacity building of staff to ensure that they can prevent corrupt practices. We value our professionalism and independence. This MoU therefore does not in any way interfere with the ongoing investigations,” she said.
Last month, ACB commenced investigations into Fam’s sponsorship of a nomination paper presentation ceremony by the presidential candidate of the then ruling Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) on Malawi Broadcasting Corporation Television (MBCTV).
In the build-up to the 2019 Tripartite Elections, Fam sponsored MBCTV’s live broadcast of former president Peter Mutharika’s nomination paper presentation to the Malawi Electoral Commission as DPP candidate.
Then, some quarters questioned Fam’s neutrality as it only sponsored DPP for the live broadcast during the nomination paper presentation ceremony.
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However, the country’s football governing body refuted the same through a statement then.
