By Edwin Mauluka
The High Court in Lilongwe on Friday granted an injunction stopping the redeployment of five senior officers of the Malawi Police Service (MPS) to other public institutions.
Government, through a letter signed by Chief Secretary Justin Saidi, had redeployed Police Commissioners Barbra Mchenga Tsiga, Christopher Katani, Rhoda Manjolo, Emmanuel Soko, and Chikondi Chikadza. The officers obtained relief from the High Court to block the move.
“It is further ordered that an order of interlocutory injunction be and is hereby granted restraining the defendant, either through himself or through any other servant or agent, from implementing the redeployment of the claimants from the MPS to any other office in the civil service until further order of this court or until the conclusion of the matter,” reads part of the order delivered by Judge Yakuwawa Msiska.
The court also granted the officers permission to pursue a judicial review of the redeployment decision.
According to information seen by The Forum, the commissioners had been seconded to various ministries as directors of security: Tsiga to the Ministry of Education, Katani to Tourism, Manjolo to Gender, Soko to Health, and Chikadza to Agriculture. Commissioner Baxton Kalimanjira was redeployed to the Ministry of Economic Planning.
The new Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) administration has launched a shakeup within the civil service and parastatal organisations. Chief Secretary Saidi has issued several deployment letters moving senior officials, including Chief Executive Officers, to public universities to serve as lecturers.
Recently, Lilongwe Water Board CEO Silli Mbewe was seconded to Malawi College of Accountancy, while Central Region Water Board CEO Robert Hanjahanja was sent to Malawi University of Business and Applied Sciences (MUBAS). Electricity Supply Commission CEO Kamkwamba Kumwenda was also reassigned to MUBAS. Northern Region Water Board CEO Francis Munthali was redeployed to Mzuzu University (MZUNI). All are expected to serve as lecturers under their existing contracts.
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Friday’s injunction comes a week after Judge Kenyatta Nyirenda also halted the government’s redeployment of five senior Malawi Defence Force officers.
Meanwhile, Higher Education Students Loans and Grants Board (HESLGB) Executive Director Prince Phwetekere has refused a posting to Domasi College of Education, arguing that he has a running five-year contract and ceased to be a civil servant in February 2023 following voluntary retirement.
In a letter to the Chief Secretary, Phwetekere said redeploying him was a misapplication of legal provisions governing HESLGB and his position. However, government maintains that officers in parastatal institutions are public officers and may be reassigned anywhere within the public service at the discretion of the Chief Secretary.
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Court Order image above by Nick Youngson CC BY-SA 3.0 Pix4free
