By Collins Mtika
For a government that pledged to root out corruption, Lilongwe City Council (LCC) stands as a glaring contradiction. President Lazarus Chakwera rose to power on promises of reform, vowing to dismantle the networks of graft that had long plagued Malawi.
His administration declared war on corruption, launching high-profile investigations and dismissing compromised officials. Yet, in the heart of the capital, corruption not only survived – it thrived, punishing those who stood for integrity and rewarding those who played along.
Inside Lilongwe City Council, routine staff transfers conceal a more sinister reality – retaliation, abuse of power, and political impunity. The official explanation? Performance issues. The truth? A ruthless campaign against those who dared to uphold the law.
It began with 300 residential plots, earmarked for fair distribution among Lilongwe’s residents. But Mayor Esther Sagawa allegedly sought to claim 70 plots for herself, strong-arming officials into compliance.
“Plot allocation got me plot offers? To my knowledge, I don’t know,” said Mayor Sagawa in a terse response to a series of questions.
When senior staff refused to bend the rules, they were swiftly and punitively reassigned – losing their positions for the sake of integrity.
Sagawa’s ambitions did not stop at land.
The Make Lilongwe Green initiative – funded by 4 million kwacha from residents – was meant to rejuvenate the city. Instead, it became a financial windfall for the mayor. When finance officers resisted her attempts to divert the funds, they too were removed.
“My personal accounts have never benefited from such,” Sagawa stated in another brief reply.
Documents reveal that key staff were abruptly transferred after refusing to authorise questionable transactions. The justification for these moves remained unchanged: performance issues.
The real reason? Every ousted officer had blocked an illegal scheme favoured by the mayor. An officer was dismissed after halting unauthorised developments tied to Sagawa’s allies.
A director, now reassigned to another district, had insisted public funds be spent appropriately. Several officers who refused to enable the land grab were also side-lined. These were not incompetents – they were professionals who refused to betray public trust.
One of the affected officers, whom Nyasa Times cannot name for fear of further victimisation, said Mayor Sagawa is interfering with almost all legally established procedures of the Council.
“In employment contracts, she is influencing the transfers of employees without following disciplinary procedures. She is also influencing plot allocation procedures and processes, as well as the development of buildings, among other things,” the source confided to Nyasa Times.
Sagawa’s overreach extended beyond her jurisdiction, bulldozing both regulatory barriers and the people who enforced them. Every legal safeguard in her path became a target—along with those who upheld it.
“…kindly get their posting letters and see the reasons, and who has the power for transfers. On the Green campaign expenditure, you can access records from the accounts department,” the mayor responded.
The irony is not lost on the public. While President Chakwera made sweeping declarations about accountability, corruption flourished under his watch.
His government had pledged to empower institutions like the Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB), yet the agency remained silent despite mounting evidence and public pressure to intervene.
The situation at Lilongwe City Council presents a significant challenge to President Chakwera’s anti-corruption agenda.
The Public Affairs Committee (PAC) met with President Chakwera on 13 January 2025 and expressed disappointment with the government’s handling of corruption cases.
Msgr. Dr Thawale emphasised that corruption has eroded public trust in the administration, undermining the integrity of the presidency, and reminded the president of his 2019 and 2020 campaign promises to fight corruption.
