… ex-convict dominates government contracts
…fails to pay workers in Viphya plantation
“Ndayang’ana dziko lonse la Malawi sindikumuona bwana opikisana nanu, ndipo ngati lamulo likuzatilola bwana, even 2030 tikufuna kuzasintha kuti muzasiye nokha chifukwa chakukalamba, ndipo ife zimenezo tizapanga, malamulo timapanga ndife, zonsezo tizapanga bwana, mpando umenewo tiupanga ukhale wa muyaya,Esther Kathumba parliamentarian for Lilongwe Mapuyu South declared the other 17 999 999 Malawians as ‘madeya’ not fit for presidency except President Lazarus Chakwera.
But Malawians have seen politics of the belly before- when people proposed Kamuzu Banda for life or Bakili Muluzi’s third term, it had nothing to do with Malawians, nor did they ask anyone save for their bellies- to continue eating- at the expense of ordinary Malawians.
Those who speak like Esther Kathumba did this week are always those benefitting from the system and drunk with power that they start undermining the same democratic institutions that saved them from death. During a one-party state- which Kathumba ironically wants Malawians to return to with Life Presidency- stealing public funds like she was convicted for being complicit in the now multibillion kwacha education scandal- she would not have survived a day in prison as she did.
Ironically Kathumba’s anti-democratic rhetoric came a week after Malawians celebrated 30 years since they voted democratically and freely for a government of choice and agreed that no single person should rule more than 10 years, with 5 years checking time in an open election.
The Investigator Magazine followed up on Esther Kathumba’s colourful life and discovered why she does not want Chakwera to leave office beyond 2030, assuming he wins in 2025. Here are some of the reasons she can’t fathom another leader will tolerate her again.
K2.5bn (K16 million in 2001) conviction still doing business with Government agencies
Despite being convicted by Justice Richard Chinangwa in 2006 for her complicity in what was then k16 million, Kathumba continues to do construction business with the government even after Attorney General Thabo Chakaka Nyirenda told Malawians that all involved in corruption cases and defrauding the government should not do business with public agencies again.
Kathumba’s mega contracts include the construction of houses for persons with albinism in Mchinji and other districts in the central region.
Salima Sugar guaranteed Kathumba K50 million as a distributor
The Investigator Magazine, after revealing the dominance of political abuse at Salima Sugar company, has been following up with the “new owners” of Salima Sugar, and though they are Malawians- politicians and their associates of the ruling Malawi Congress Party (MCP) are new contractors and distributors of Salima Sugar.
Esther Kathumba is one of the lucky parliamentarians who have benefitted from this cursed factory as she is among a few parliamentarians who will be distributing sugar without raising any cent for the investment. She is in Canaan which President Chakwera seems to be creating for cronies and wailers only.
MPs and MCP officials, replacing the Asians and DPP officials, were guaranteed K50 million loans at the CDH Bank, meaning they would take sugar for free, sell it and use the capital guarantee to pay back and pay from profits.
The opportunity, however, is not open to all Malawians who are now suffering under the MCP regime. People like Esther Kathumba are justified to claim “no one can be like Chakwera” in delivering such programmes that abuse public institutions for political reasons.
“She is a beneficiary of Chakwera’s cronyism, she can’t thank him enough, and she can’t manage life without Chakwera; that’s where her utterances come from,” he explained. The Investigator Magazine will publish the names of all politicians who are now distributors of Salima Sugar without investing a dime.
NEEF, agricultural loans seem to have fallen on her lap as well
Kathumba seems to have left no government department on her list. Apart from construction and sugar, she is said to have acquired loans from the National Economic Empowerment Fund (NEEF) and allegedly from one of the agriculture loans despite targeting poor Malawians as their main beneficiaries.
The Investigator Magazine has received a list of President Chakwera’s family members, Ministers Parliamentarians and senior public officials who NEEF is giving loans despite having other opportunities to acquire loans.
“She got between K30 to K49 million from NEEF, she has all the reasons to wish Chakwera to remain in office as these loans will be forgiven. Ministers, including one from Blantyre, were given loans again, yet the government guaranteed over K70 million in loans from banks. These politicians are greedy, nothing about a poor man. They are now raiding NEEF,” said our source.
We will publish the list of Chakwera’s family members, Cabinet and Parliamentarians who have benefitted from NEEF, which small-scale businesses in their constituencies lack capital as low as K50,000 to develop their businesses.
Kathumba has been to Nyika, unpaid workers at Chikangawa
Esther Kathumba’s arrogance and showing off the middle finger to Malawians is well documented in the Northern Region, where she has been awarded contracts to cut trees at Nyika National Park and Chikangawa Forest.
Despite the stringent rules that loggers should replant- Kathumba company continues to display a sense of arrogance by refusing to plant trees, and the helpless Forestry officials blame their Minister Micheal Usi for facilitating anarchy in forests to please MCP officials.
“Ask her to pay the workers who have been working for her. The workers took it to the justice programme of the Livingstonia Synod of CCAP, but she wasn’t bothered. She has grown very strong and arrogant. If she says she wants Malawians to live under Chakwera forever, at least remind her to honour obligations she has not to make money and abuse the poor,” charged one of the workers at Chikangawa.
Other influential loggers claimed Usi is not respecting agreements laid under former Ministers such as Nancy Tembo and Einshower Mkaka and that people like Kathumba have not been replanting as nobody can take them to task.
“She ignores every order and rule in the forest; no wonder she has the audacity to propose a life presidency so she can continue to enjoy,” charged another logger.
Last Life President killed and robbed Malawians
From 1963 through 1966 some gullible Malawians proposed Hastings Kamuzu Banda as life President of the MCP and eventually the state. The experiment was disastrous as Chakwera’s record in governance includes arrests of critics, his party youth beating rivals and backing up those close to him, even when implicated in corruption.
Over 10,000 Malawians were killed by state apparatus, close to 30,000 were exiled, mainly Jehova’s Witnesses and relatives of those that were considered rebels and billions of kwacha of properties were confiscated, including a Steel Works at Kanengo from an Asian family, which was turned into Kamuzu’s personal company- Press Steel.
Banda grabbed land, including prime farms, detained critics and enriched himself, owning 30 per cent of the economy while most Malawians remained poor. His close associates entrenched his power as they benefitted from the system.
“It’s always who benefits from a corrupt system that pukes such nonsense on the nation. Sadly the President could not condemn the remarks there and then. Knowing Chakwera and his well-documented u-turns, come 2030, if he wins in 2025, he would entertain the nonsense,” analysts noted.
