YAS calls for immediate resignation of minister Msukwa over Sattar's land corruption allegations By staff reporter Human rights watchdog, Youth and Society (YAS), has asked Lands, Housing and Urban Development Minister Kezzie Msukwa to immediately resign, following his alleged involvement in the corrupt acquisition of some land by some Asian traders. The organization says “will take necessary action within the law” if Msukwa fails to resign. YAS has said this in a strongly worded letter it has addressed to Msukwa, telling him that “it has become morally untenable for you to continue in that office because of your arrest based on opprobrious rent- seeking behaviour of corruptly using your public office as is alleged”. The letter, which is directly addressed to Msukwa, is dated 17 January 2022 and signed by YAS Executive Director, Charles Kajoloweka. The land the Asian traders are alleged to have corruptly acquired with the alleged aid of Msukwa, is in Area 46 in Lilongwe and Chipoka in Salima. Msukwa was arrested some days ago by the Anti- Corruption Bureau (ACB), soon after the bureau had also arrested Ashok Kumar Sreedharan aka Ashok Nair—an agent of one Zunneth Sattar, a wealthy business magnate who faces multiple corruption investigations, some of which involve land deals. However, Msukwa sought a court order, restraining the ACB from arresting and detaining him, saying “he has done nothing wrong”. He remains a cabinet minister against the expectations of many Malawians, who thought President Lazarus Chakwera could immediately fire Msukwa to enable the ACB smoothly investigate him and allow the courts to prove him innocent. And YAS says it believes the resignation of Msukwa “is the first significant step in ensuring justice and accountability in this corruption case and in curing a climate of impunity in the Ministry of Lands”. “You are no doubt aware of the huge public interest in the ongoing investigations of Zunneth Sattar’s corruption and state capture of epic proportions, in which there are the land corruption allegations that led to your arrest by the Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB). Your trial for those allegations is since pending in court. For avoidance of doubt, the investigations by the Bureau established that you corruptly used your public office as Minister contrary to section 25 (1) as read together with section 34 of the Corrupt Practices Act,” reads in part the YAS letter to Msukwa. The letter adds that YAS and all right-minded Malawians, are deeply concerned and disturbed that despite Msukwa's arrest over “these seriously scandalous criminal allegations”, he continues in office as Minister as if nothing has happened and nothing matters at all. It says it is rather a pity that Msukwa should be told what should be obvious to anyone with a figment of integrity. “Section 12(1)(b) and (c) of the Malawi Constitution highlights trust as a pertinent constitutional principle, highlighting that authority to exercise power of State is conditional upon the sustained trust of the people of Malawi and that trust can only be maintained through open, accountable and transparent Government and informed democratic choice. It is our firm view that your arrest and the alleged acts have soiled the trust reposed in you, as such, it is only proper that you resign. To dispel doubt and pre-empt distraction by those who may mislead you, a resignation on your part will not be a mark of admitting culpability, as yet. Neither will it be an admission of legal liability nor an act of self-deprecation by way of self-punishment. If you are wrong or legally liable, you do not get to decide your punishment. Your legal liability, including criminal liability, will be established through the pending trial in respect of which you enjoy your right to be presumed innocent,” the letter reads. It further says Msukwa’s resignation, on his part, would be an ethical act of reinforcing personal integrity and the integrity of the office from which he must resign. “It buttresses responsibility and supports accountability. The integrity and trust reposed in the public office of Minister is typically brought into opprobrium when it is accepted, as appears to be the case with you, that it can be held by someone facing serious charges which strike at the very route of integrity with the possibility of a conviction. It is no less a pity that even the appointing authority is complicit in your scandal by procrastinating on a rather obvious matter, on the fair benefit of doubt that the appointing authority still values integrity,” says the letter.

YAS, other CSOs rue gaps in implementation of access to information law in Malawi By staff reporter A consortium of Youth and Society (YAS), Oxfam and Development Communication Trust (DCT) has expressed concern over "some significant gaps" in the implementation of the Access to Information (ATI) Act and operating environment for the effective realization of the right to information. READ MORE

YAS takes ATI Act to Local Councils: Calls for strict compliance by public officials By staff reporter In its bid to contribute towards the successful implementation of the Access to Information Act (ATIA), Youth and Society (YAS) has taken the dissemination of the Access to Information Act (ATIA) and ATIA Guidelines to district councils. READ MORE

YAS, other CSOs decry worsening economic inequality as Malawi Celebrates International Human Rights Day. officials Wanangwa Mtawali-Nyasa Times Human rights and governance watchdog Youth and Society (YAS) and its collaborating civil society organizations (CSOs) have decried economic inequality in Malawi exacerbated by the current economic hardships, describing it as “the worst” in recent years. READ MORE