K90 billion Amaryllis

…..Amarrlyis hotel deal not approved by board

…Ex-SPC Zamba influences Chair Nyirongo

…APM says he wont shield anyone

K90 billion of Public Service Pension funds was paid out in a controversial deal without the approval of the full board, in what has been described as a messy transaction likely to implicate more than a dozen public officials accused of acting out of greed.

According to The Investigator analysis, almost K40 billion from the deal was allegedly distributed as bribes to officials linked to both the former MCP government and the incumbent DPP administration.

Public attention has now shifted to Professor Peter Mutharika after he declared that he would not support anyone implicated in the Amaryllis Hotel scandal, a matter currently under public inquiry.

The inquiry has already implicated the Acting Director of the Anti-Corruption Bureau, Attorney General Frank Mbeta, and about half a dozen other individuals. Analysis by The Investigator suggests that the matter involved an elaborate scheme designed to defraud the Public Service Pension Trust (PSPT) of approximately K128 billion.

In a strongly worded statement issued in the early hours of Saturday after watching a sixteen-hour inquiry conducted by Parliament’s Public Accounts Committee (PAC), the President reassured Malawians that the investigation had his full support. He stated that the PAC had his backing and emphasized that, as promised when he assumed office, he would not shield anyone involved in corruption. He stressed that his commitment to fighting corruption remained intact.

The Acting Director of the Anti-Corruption Bureau is at the centre of the revelations that dominated the news, as it emerged that he had participated in the sale agreement meeting held on 17 November 2025. During that meeting, he reportedly appeared as a legal representative for Yusuf Investments, the company that owns the now controversial Amaryllis Hotel.

Just two days later, Chembezi, this time acting in his official capacity as the country’s public protector through the Anti-Corruption Bureau, issued a restriction order to the Public Service Pension Trust halting the transaction until investigations were completed. This development raised serious concerns because he was already aware that the deal had been signed. Critics say this sequence of actions demonstrated a high level of hypocrisy and suggested a conspiracy designed to mislead the public.

Weeks later, Chembezi allegedly used insider information from what investigators believe was a cartel to clear the deal of any corruption. Despite his earlier involvement in the transaction, he did not declare any conflict of interest. During the inquiry, he was accused of lying under oath about his role in the matter, while evidence suggested that his law firm had benefitted from the questionable sale.

However, Chembezi claims he only attended the meeting virtually and did not directly participate in the controversial sale. His close associates challenge that he is clean and that no single dime was paid into his account.

Chembezi was there as potential legal representative of the Trust Fund and not the Hotel.

“The recording of the meeting was edited. At the end it explains what the role was to stand in for a former partner and interest was clearly declared. The narrative is quite misleading, he is correct to say he has never been a lawyer for the hotel,” charged the associate of Chembezi.

The all-night parliamentary inquiry, which was watched by a record number of Malawians through live streams on Malawi Parliament’s Facebook page, revealed further disturbing details. It emerged that the signing of the deal, the payment of K90 billion, and the final sale agreement had never been presented to the full board of the Public Service Pension Trust.

Instead, only three board members/ Chairperson Chizaso Nyirongo, Idris Mwale, and another member ,  had seen the signed agreement. Earlier, on 25 October 2025, the board had merely authorised its Investment Committee to explore the matter. However, within just 22 days, the committee moved at what observers described as “supersonic speed,” finalizing and signing the deal by 17 November 2025. This process also involved the engagement of an unlicensed property valuer known as EMJ.

Nyirongo attempted to defend his prominent role in the matter while responding to questions concerning George Jimu, a Principal Officer of the fund who had been suspended. Jimu was reportedly suspended for aggressively pushing for the deal and for allegedly disrupting board meetings held on 24 and 25 October 2025.

However, The Investigator’s analysis indicates that the Investment Committee relied heavily on the October 2025 board resolution to justify concluding the sale and signing the agreement just two days before Chembezi issued his restriction order. What remains unclear, however, is how the committee reported its findings back exclusively to Nyirongo and managed to secure his signature on the deal without informing or consulting the full board.

A similar pattern of questionable decision-making surrounded the hurried payment of K90 billion. The funds were transferred shortly after the Registrar of Financial Institutions had written to the board instructing it to rescind the sale. Instead of complying with the directive, the board ignored the letter. Evidence suggests the funds were transferred during the festive season, possibly in an attempt to complete the transaction before an expected formal order from Dr. George Patridge could take effect.

Seven board members, most of whom represented employees, opposed the proposed deal. The Vice Chairperson shocked both the parliamentary committee and the public when he testified that he had not even been aware that the deal had been finalized.

Concerns about Chairman Nyirongo’s conduct deepened as members of the committee revealed that he had single-handedly reconstituted several subcommittees of the board, claiming the changes were meant to improve efficiency and capacity. However, it became increasingly apparent that the Investment Committee had been reorganized in a way that allowed it to rubber-stamp the chairman’s wishes. Its chairperson, Tsitsi, appeared to have limited knowledge of the very transactions his committee had supposedly overseen and was almost excused from questioning due to his lack of details.

Nyirongo also ignored professional advice from reputable institutions, including Nico Asset Managers and Continental Asset Managers, both of which had advised against proceeding with the deal. Instead, he chose to rely on advice from a relatively unknown group calling itself EMJ Advisory, which critics have described as unqualified.

The troubled Fund Chair said in early 2024, he had attended a meeting with Former Secretary to the President and Cabinet Colleen Zamba and George Jimu in Mzuzu where Zamba expressed interest in the hotel sale. Nyirongo claimed Phiri asked for a promotion with a promise to facilitate the deal. An MP connected the dots that Nyirongo had “lady luck” that after attending the meeting a year later he would do exactly as what Phiri promised Zamba.

Earlier on Friday, the committee chaired by Baba Malondera received another shocking revelation. Legal Services Manager Mary Mpango had been placed on leave starting January 12 ,  the same period during which the K90 billion payment was processed and distributed, reportedly “like Christmas candies.”

Investigations by The Investigator have so far traced several transactions in which payments were transferred from Yusuf Investments’ account directly into the personal bank accounts of several officials.

The officials include former high ranking government officials and incumbent administration officials. Evidence of transactions is being sent to parliament and will be presented to the inquiry which will then became public.

The parliamentary inquiry itself broke records by sitting continuously until 2:30 a.m. Many Malawians praised the dedication and patriotism displayed by members of the committee. Members of Parliament from constituencies such as Chikwawa West, Chiradzulu Central, Mulanje Southeast, and Lilongwe Chilobwe were particularly active during the proceedings, firing tough questions that were widely applauded by viewers following the inquiry on social media.

Editors Note: Resign AG, ACB Director and Nyirongo

The Investigator would like to offer a short piece of advice to the Honourable Attorney General Frank Mbeta and the Director of the Anti-Corruption Bureau Gabriel Chembezi: Resign.

Of course Chembezi could benefit from benefit of doubt, but his clearance and timing raises alot of discomfort.

Yes, just that one word. Simple. Elegant. Saves everyone a lot of paperwork.

Because at this point, continuing to hold on to office is beginning to look less like public service and more like someone refusing to leave a party long after the host has turned the lights on, stacked the chairs, and started washing the dishes.

The communications from their offices somehow helped steer the Malawi Public Service Pension Fund into a situation where it now appears to be lighter by something in the region of K90 billion, and all without the inconvenience of full board approval. That is not a small accounting error; that is the sort of number that makes calculators develop anxiety.

And since we are handing out friendly advice today, we might as well extend the same message to Badada Nyirongo. Friday’s performance was not just disappointing, it was the kind of showing that makes spectators quietly check if they are still watching the same team they came to support.

In politics, as in football, there are bad days, and then there are days when the scoreboard politely suggests that the best strategy is to walk off the pitch with dignity.

Gentlemen, this is one of those moments.

There is a point in every public scandal where defending the indefensible becomes a national endurance sport. Malawi has reached that point. The explanations have run out, the patience has thinned, and the credibility account, like that pension fund, is looking rather depleted.

So let us return to that single word. It remains available, still perfectly usable, and surprisingly effective when deployed at the right time.

Resign. Quickly, if possible. Before the President is forced to discover just how much “limit” the phrase pushing him to his limits actually contains.

Malawians deserve better, and at this stage, even a graceful exit would count as a small public service.