By Chisomo Phiri
The government says it is not aware of Sylvester Namiwa’s resignation from the commission of inquiry established to investigate the plane crash that killed former Vice President Saulos Chilima and eight others.
President Chakwera appointed the commission last month amid growing demands from various sectors of society to determine the cause of the accident.
However, just hours after his appointment, Namiwa announced his resignation from the commission, citing concerns over transparency and accountability, particularly the decision to hold witness testimonies behind closed doors.
In an interview with 247 Malawi News, Spokesperson for the Office of the President and Cabinet(OPC), Robert Kalindiza, said the appointing authority has not received Namiwa’s resignation.
According to Kalindiza, the resignation letter submitted to the president’s office bears the name of a certain organization, not his own, and thus cannot be considered valid.
“Of course we are hearing rumors of resignation but there is a difference between Mr. Namiwa and the letter of resignation that is coming from a certain organization. So he was appointed not as an organization,” explained Kalindiza.
In response, Namiwa has dismissed the OPC’s claims as baseless.
“That’s nonsense, what difference does it make,” says Namiwa.
