President Lazarus Chikwera has bowed down to public calls to release the full Commission of Inquiry report on the Arrest of ACB Director General Martha Chizuma.
Upon receiving the report on Tuesday, Chakwera directed that only key findings and recommendations be made public, which did not go well with some stakeholders.
The Malawi Law Society (MLS) Chairperson Patrick Mpaka called on government to make the whole report public saying doing so will enhance both Chakwera and the Commission’s public trust, transparency and accountability.
“We cannot fairly evaluate the 12 Commissioners’ output without examining what they have looked at in pages 1-49 of their report which is not available to the public. The authority given to the Commission by the President in a public appointment document circulated on 6th December 2022 specifically required the Commission to zero in on the arrest and not to inquire into the conduct of the arrested.
“However, pages50-60 seem to suggest that the Commissioners had different Terms of Reference from the direct question concerning the arrest as raised in the 6th December 2022 appointment notice known to the public. The public must be allowed to evaluate how such possible variance in the scope of assignment might have arisen or indeed there is any variance at all,” said Mpaka in a statement released on Wednesday.
Hours after the statement was released, Information Minister Gospel Kazako said government will make the report public.
“The President directed that the Findings and Recommendations of the report be released immediately because that is what was read to him by the Commission yesterday. He needed time to read the remainder chapters of report for his knowledge and and understanding. The report will be released to the public full,” Kazako posted on his Facebook page.
Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) Steven Kayuni and Chizuma emerged as two top public officers to face action in recommendations by a commission of inquiry into Chizuma’s arrest.
Chaired by retired Justice of Appeal Edward Twea, the Commission failed to pin down “critical members of the executive” who it said evidence showed were aware of Chizuma’s arrest on December 6 2022 before Parliament began proceedings for the day.
