Despite receiving unwavering goodwill from Malawians to combat corruption, former Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB) Director Martha Chizuma squandered this support through egregious unprofessionalism. By flagrantly breaching her oath of secrecy and divulging internal Bureau matters to a third party in that infamous audio leak, Chizuma self-destructed and revealed herself as an “excess baggage” that needed to be discarded. President Lazarus Chakwera, demonstrating respect for the rule of law, permitted her to complete her tenure, and now that she has exhausted her contract, the search for a new Director is likely underway.
Therefore, rather than returning home to reflect and strategize for a possible resurgence, Chizuma has chosen to persist in her counterproductive habits, maligning the Malawi government for allegedly thwarting her anti-corruption efforts. Within a mere three days of leaving office, she has embarked on an interview whirlwind in Washington DC, USA attacking the government back home.
Some say this is not surprising as during her tenure as the ACB Tsar, whispers abounded that she was a puppet of western (British) elements who bypassed legal protocols to hunt for so-called evidence in Malawi, evidence that the ACB later used to arrest the sitting Vice President.
Ironically, Chizuma has travelled to Washington DC without any accompanying journalists, yet she meticulously captures her moments there and dispatches them to journalists in Malawi.
“I can foretell that she will undertake several of these visits to foreign capitals and is likely to repeat her narrative wherever she goes. The good thing is that she doesn’t have public support. But her passion to bad-light her country is so esoteric,” stated a senior social and political analyst in an interview on condition of anonymity.
