Chizuma ‘audio’ stirs debate

A leaked audio, purportedly a conversation between the Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB) director general Martha Chizuma and an unknown person, has stirred debate in the country.

Some quarters of society yesterday said the audio is a huge scandal and called for Chizuma’s immediate resignation.

But others considered the alleged voice recording as a ploy to bring down Chizuma who, in the recording, appears to be discussing investigative and legal strategy on an active case with an outsider.

In the clip trending on social media, but which we have not independently verified, a woman purported to be Chizuma is heard talking to a male voice about their ongoing joint investigation with British’s National Crimes Agency.

Throughout yesterday, Chizuma neither responded to our questionnaire nor picked up our calls when we wanted to verify the authenticity of the audio and the basis of the positions she allegedly took in the discussion.

The female voice purportedly of Chizuma discusses the bureau’s investigative and legal strategy with someone not directly involved in the case and makes claims of corruption even against judges and magistrates, but does not offer evidence in the recording.

She is particularly scathing of some churches, judges, lawyers and the Presidency who she alleges are too compromised to help in the fight against corruption.

Since the audio recording was leaked yesterday, some people blamed Chizuma for unprofessional conduct in discussing such a sensitive matter with a third party and that she breached her oath of office.

“On the Martha recordings all I can say is that for someone in her position, she should have known better. She, of all people should know that, nowadays, any phone is tapped even without having to get one’s hands on it,” wrote one Facebook user.

But others said the audio clip could be part of a calculated move to discredit Chizuma.

Danwood Chirwa, a Malawian professor of law who teaches at University of Cape Town in South Africa, writing on his Facebook page said Chizuma has not broken her oath of office as she has not shared any confidential information about ongoing investigations.

He observed: “Contrary to what agents of corruption are loudly claiming, the [ACB] director [general] has not broken her oath of office. All she has done is express her frustration and the lack of support to her office.

“She is entitled to do so, privately and publicly. All Malawians must sympathise with her situation…the ACB director [general] is a threat because she wants to break the gentleman’s agreement and prosecute major players in the corruption network.”

Her fellow lawyers in Malawi did not stake out a clear position whether for or against her yesterday on the recorded conversations.

Malawi Law Society (MLS), in a statement yesterday, refused to state its position on the audio recording.

MLS president Patrick Mpaka said his body is yet to obtain details and circumstances of the clip.

He said: “MLS is proceeding cautiously on these issues because on 2nd December we issued a public statement on the subject matter, on 10 January [2022] we offered some public guidance on the issues and on 15th January [2022] we delivered a comprehensive write up to the authorities concerned and are now waiting for feedback within the timelines set by the law which run up to January 30.”

In the recording, Chizuma talks of how compromised the bench is and that most lawyers are corrupt.

In an interview yesterday Centre for Social Accountability and Transparency executive director Willy Kambwandira said Malawi should not lose focus in the fight against corruption based on the leaked audio incident.

Chizuma neither responded to our questionnaire nor picked up our calls when we wanted to verify the authenticity of the audio.