CoP fails to take oath

Chief Justice Andrew Nyirenda on Friday failed to administer the oath of office for newly-appointed Clerk of Parliament Fiona Kalemba following an injunction which was obtained and granted by the High Court in Mzuzu on Thursday.

At exactly 8:25am, Kalemba proceeded to take her position in the chamber awaiting the arrival of the Chief Justice to start the process. Over 50 National Assembly secretariat employees were among a group of people who were in the chamber to witness the ceremony.

By 8:44am, however, it had become apparent that the ceremony would not be held and Kalemba and all Parliament staff left the chamber.

In the interim, the Chief Justice had remained in the visitors’ room waiting to be called to administer the oath, but it was not long before Weekend Nation saw Nyirenda drive off with his security personnel.

The administration of the oath of office for the Clerk of Parliament is a long-standing tradition, conducted as soon as one has been appointed.

However, four opposition members of Parliament (MPs) on Thursday moved the court to stop Kalemba’s swearing-in pending an inter-partes hearing between them and the Attorney General.

The four MPs challenging Kalemba’s appointment are Harry Mkandawire (Mzimba West, People’s Party-PP), Kamlepo Kalua (Rumphi East, PP), Peter Chakwantha (Lilongwe South West, Malawi Congress Party-MCP) and Enock Chihana (Rumphi Central, Alliance for Democracy-Aford).

Kalemba’s appointment last month drew fire from opposition politicians after it was learnt that she did not emerge first, but third during the interviews for the position which the Parliamentary Service Commission (PSC) conducted in October.

But President Peter Mutharika has defended his choice of Kalemba, citing her legislative drafting experience.

High Court judge Charles Mkandawire allegedly came first and was trailed by Malawi Human Rights Commission (MHRC) executive secretary Grace Malera, according to sources.

In an interview with The Nation on Thursday, MP Mkandawire confirmed that the court had given them seven days to file an inter partes application to support their claim after which the court will set a date for hearing once the government through the Attorney General responds.

Meanwhile, when Parliament resumed at 9:30am, Speaker of the National Assembly Richard Msowoya totally ignored the incident in his announcements.

But Minister of Justice Samuel Tembenu said in an interview that government is working on vacating the injunction.

“The President’s appointment is final,” he said.