The Malawi Law Society has raised serious concerns about a proposed hotel acquisition by the Public Service Pension Trust Fund, calling for an immediate suspension of the transaction and an independent investigation into allegations of financial impropriety.
In a press statement issued today, the Society outlined multiple irregularities surrounding the deal, including dramatic price inflation, potential conflicts of interest, and suspicious timing of personnel changes at the Fund.
According to the Law Society, the Fund’s Board initially rejected the hotel purchase in January 2024 at a proposed price of MK47 billion, following expert advice that the transaction was not viable.
However, the decision was reportedly reversed after the seller’s finance advisor contacted another Fund Manager, who subsequently recommended the purchase.
The price has since ballooned to between MK115 billion and MK145 billion—representing an increase of up to 208% from the original valuation.
The Society’s statement, signed by Chairman Davis Mthakati Njobvu and Honorary Secretary Francis Ekari M’mame, alleges that critical safeguards were ignored during the due diligence process.
Most notably, the organization claims that the entity which produced a second, favorable “Viability Business Analysis Report” may have ownership links to the hotel itself.
“The information further alleges that critical safeguards were ignored, including an absence of independent due diligence by a hotel expert and no identified strategic partner,” the statement reads.
The timing of recent events has also drawn scrutiny. The Law Society notes that the Fund’s Principal Officer was suspended on October 27, 2025, pending an investigation. An Acting Principal Officer was appointed the following day, and a signed resolution authorizing the acquisition was produced shortly thereafter.
Additionally, a new Board of Trustees was reconstituted in September 2025 and allegedly has not been given adequate time to properly assess the deal’s contentious history before being pressured to approve it.
The Malawi Law Society is calling on several oversight authorities to intervene:The Anticorruption Bureau, The Minister of Finance and The Attorney General.
“Based on the foregoing allegations, there are serious concerns that this transaction is being concluded under suspicious circumstances, which could pose a significant threat to the financial security of the Fund’s contributors,” the statement warns.
The Public Service Pension Trust Fund was established to safeguard retirement benefits for Malawi’s public service employees. The Malawi Law Society, which has a statutory mandate under the Legal Education and Legal Practitioners Act to protect matters of public interest, emphasized that it will continue monitoring the situation to ensure public servants’ pensions are not compromised.
The Society’s statement concludes with a commitment to taking “all necessary steps within our mandate to ensure that the pensions of Malawian public servants are not sacrificed for a questionable and potentially detrimental investment.”
As of press time, neither the Public Service Pension Trust Fund nor government authorities have issued a response to the allegations.
