…extends Addax supply contract to December
..Addax blackmailing us-NOCMA
..NOCMA, MERA ignores Attorney General advise
Exactly a month after President Lazarus Chakwera announced a government to government (G2G) fuel procurement system, Chief Executive Officer of the Malawi Energy Regulatory Authority (MERA) Henry Kachaje wrote to his board and got approval of extension of private supplier Addax contract to December 2025. The Investigator Magazine can reveal.
Kachaje in his reaction to our initial story on his sabotage attempts called it “propaganda” but official documentation shows that MERA and the National Oil Company (NOCMA) directly defied President Chakwera’s directive and later parliamentary enactment as they pushed for private suppliers to keep supplying fuel until December 2025.
On 27 November 2024, President Chakwera said all supply contracts will be respected to the end. They were initially expected to end in March 2025 when G2G was to be fully rolled out, but documents sourced from NOCMA and MERA show the two organisations already extended the contracts to August 2025.

Kachaje whom industry sources claim is behaving like an agent for fuel suppliers alongside his NOCMA counterpart Clement Kanyama, sought his board to extend contracts for four companies to hide Addax’s interest. The MERA board interestingly approved only Addax contract to end December 2025, almost nine months after G2G supply contract had started.
Kachaje contradictory reaction to The Investigator Magazine
Pretending to respond to a group message, Kachaje provided contradiction over the 50 million litres fuel supply that was at Tanga by 27th December 2024, the same day he wrote to his Board to extend contract for Addax.
“He was not honest that he was acting in the interest of Malawians. Fuel from G2G was procured on 2 December and he and NOCMA was aware that it was estimated to arrive in Tanga between 27 to 30 December 2025. His memo to the Board was a direct contradiction to the President, hence he shows to have interest in Addax to continue fuel supply,” explained a MERA source.



On Transportation, the MERA Chief said he had informed Malawian truckers who had committed 239 trucks but only 7 arrived at Tanga but he omitted to say how he quickly identified Tanzanian Truckers on the same day and managed to reach Tanga on the same day.
“NOCMA only published an advert on 9th January when Tanzanian truckers were already at Tanga. It means NOCMA and MERA were communicating effectively with foreign truckers as he said the last communication to Malawian truckers was mid-December 2024. The question is why MERA would and NOCMA be interested in paying in forex than Malawi kwacha,” asked a Transporter.
The Investigator Magazine analysis shows clearly that there was consistent and deliberate effort to engage Tanzanian trucks as they pay benefits to fuel procurement official. The preference for foreign truckers is on record mainly due to bribes they offer, said an industry expert.
In contrary, it was Kachaje that churned out lies on Malawi’s truckers as he told Parliament that they have no capacity to haul fuel on January 2025 only of make a u turn to say they were few trucks.
Three of the country’s largest truck owners have over 300 tankers between them and it is said someone between MERA and NOCMA advised them not to accept the Tanga deal to sabotage the G2G deal.
NOCMA throws first spanner, seeks Attorney General’s opinion a week after G2G was announced
In typical mafia style, NOCMA immediately after the President announced the G2G deal, went into sabotage plans. It announced arrivals of fuel from Dar es Salaam, Beira and Nacala weeks after fuel stations were dry forcing motorists to sleep at filling station on Christmas and New Year holidays.
“If these suppliers were genuine, why did they suddenly release fuel after holding the country to ransom from August to December. The emphasis on the supply from these centres than Tanga in NOCMA public information shows that the institution wanted to show the private suppliers in positive light,” said another PR analyst we gave posters from NOCMA for the same period.
Three days after President Chakwera’s announcement, on December 1, 2024, under reference number NOCMA/MOJ/24/12/01 asked the Attorney General Thabo Chakaka Nyirenda if the fuel contract between Addax Energy SA and NOCMA could be extended following the G2G announcement.

NOCMA’s Clement Kanyama said Addax had threatened to suspend supply of fuel to NOCMA on Open Account, the letter The Investigator Magazine has seen reads.
The AG responded on 14 December 2024, when NOCMA and MERA were already aware that fuel had been imported under G2G arrangements, he said the new policy had to be respected and the contracts too.
“I fail to appreciate the rationale for a demand for extension by Addax SA, when their interest is well covered by this clause, on the expiry of their contract. The position taken by Addax on open credit facility is not relevant to their demand for an extension. The NOCMA FOREX challenges may not be addressed through the extension of their contract,” pined Chakaka Nyirenda SC.
He said the US$30 million open credit facility was part of the contract and any withdraw of the facility will be in breach of Clause 4 of Addendum 3 of the fuel contract.
The Government top legal adviser charged, “The seller may not demand an extension of contract through coercion that is demanding to tamper with open credit facility. The request is not relevant to NOCMA failures to pay. Addax SAs request for extension is a shrewd way of by passing the Liquid Fuels and Gas (Production and Supply) Act of 2024.
The AG adds that the seven-month extension NOCMA was seeking would be in breach of the new policy as it suspends G2G for seven months and might breach Public Procurement and Disposal of Assests Act.
“It would be imprudent for NOCMA to continue paying Addax SA with the view to create headroom given the threats made by Addax SA. The available resources should be redirected to other fuel suppliers until a consensus is reached between Addax SA and NOCMA,” said the AG on a document sourced from OPC and verified by NOCMA officials.
But Kachaje and Kanyama decided to defy the AG’s legal advice and proceed to engineer extension of Addax SA.
Kachaje, Kanyama play AG for fools
Despite seeking and getting clear advice from the Attorney General, the two state institutions decided to ignore the President, Parliament and the law as NOCMA and MERA wrote to each other to get approvals for Addax SA to supply fuel until December 2025 in parallel to G2G legal policy.
According to MERA paper number E0B/116/4 while Government had closed business a previous week, NOCMA’s Kanyama was still working not for fuel deliveries but extension of Addax SA contract as on Christmas eve (24 December 2025) he defied the Attorney Generals advise and wrote to his MERA colleague to extend the fuel contracts.

Kachaje went a step further, despite holidays on 25th and 26th, on the next business day the 27th he he quickly managed to convene an urgent Board meeting at Mount Soche Hotel in Blantyre on the same day G2G fuel was arriving in Tanga to get his company to continue supplying fuel.
“The speed at which MERA and NOCMA operated is unheard of in Malawi public service that they would forgo holidays and even call each other over Christmas to have an urgent discussion. They did not have time for Malawi transporters, there was no reason for the sense of urgency displayed as the contracts were valid until March, but this shows the self-interests that these extensions against the new government policy have,” observed our analysts.
To cover up their true intentions, Kachaje and Kanyama included four suppliers with Addax as the first, Camel Oil, Hass and Augusta. He interestingly cites the Addax threats on open credit facility as the reason.
“With an existing contract ending on 2 May 2025, Addax has submitted the following request: delivery period be extended to 31 December 2025. Notification of extension to be communicated on 15 December 2024. Without an extension being granted on 15 December 2024 an open credit to be reduced to nil by 31 January 2025,” Kachaje wrote carrying the threat from Addax Energy Sa which had 178 million litres to supply on its contract.
On Camel he told the Board they had carry over from 2022/2023 and nothing for 2024. Camel has, reported Kachaje secured US$20 million credit that requires letters of credit which NOCMA was failing to source as such it needed extension from 31 August 2025.
Hass on the other hand Kachaje said also abandoned the 90-day credit limit to a US$10 million-dollar credit was yet to deliver 41 million litres of fuel despite its contract ending on 15 May 2025 as such it needed extension.
The strangest cover is use of Augusta which only supplied 7% of its allocated fuel of 83,000 metric tones. NOCMA wanted to reduce the fuel allocation to 25,000 but claimed it faced challenges.
Kachaje’s confusing memo states that Addax had achieved 86% of its supply and Hass 83% which meant the balances could be met by end of their contracts, rendering the need for extension not only invalid but suspicious way of bypassing the new legislation and procurement act.
The MERA boss in his submission states, “Having considered the urgency of the request, the management if of the view that the board should consider granting NOCMA an approval to proceed with finalising extension of delivery period for its supplies.”
Looking at the fact that NOCMA made the request on 24th December and Kachaje’s memo jointly signed with Patrick Uka to the Board happened after Christmas holidays, the use of “management” is redundant as it reveals a well-crafted conspiracy between NOCMA and MERA managers to get teh approvals at all costs.
A MERA board member confirmed to The Investigator Magazine that extensions to Hass, Augusta and Camel were rejected but only Addax, despite the Attorney Generals advice got the nod.
Our View: Kachaje, Kanyama playing with Malawians
From the documentation and interviews with people at MERA and NOCMA, only Henry Kachaje and Clement Kanyama stand out as saboteurs of the new government to government fuel deal. There is a personal benefit so huge that they are okey with fuel queues they have created for almost better half of 2024. They would like to continue both with private suppliers and Tanzanian truckers just because it is something that benefits them not Malawians. But the two gentlemen were both hired to act on behalf Malawians. The two have failed. But thats as far as we can shout. The man at the hill as usual appears powerless, clueless and at times useless to act in the interest of Malawians. But one day President Chakwera whom someone controls and plays with yoyo will go out of that office. We had a dictator once Hastings Kamuzu Banda, he went, we had Dr Bakili Muluzi- he left Sanjika Palace, we had Bingu wa Mutharika he died in office, then Madame Joyce Banda she left Kamuzu Palace, lately we had Professor Arthur Peter Mutharika. One day sooner or later will be President Chakwera’s turn. This documented abuse of office and ignoring sound advice from the Attorney General will follow Kanyama and Kachaje, only then, will they know playing with Malawians and their pain, is not for public officers. We don’t write propaganda Mr Kachaje, you got Addax extension, you managed to get Tanzanian trucks before our locals, you are working for foreigners not Malawians. That is playing with Malawians!