Court lifts Yeremiah Chihana’s order against suspension

The High Court of Malawi has lifted an order that embattled Blantyre Water Board (BWB) chief executive officer Yeremiah Chihana obtained against his suspension last week.

The court order delivered yesterday means that Chihana has been suspended for the third time within six months and paves the way for the appointment of an acting chief executive officer.

High Court Judge Allan Muhome vacated the order in Blantyre after hearing both Chihana and his employer.

No more immunity:

Chihana. | Mathews Kasanda

Last week, the High Court reinstated Chihana into his role days after his suspension and granted him permission to seek judicial review of the BWB board of directors’ decision to suspend him pending an inquiry following an emergency board meeting.

But Attorney General Frank Mbeta asked the court to vacate the stay order and injunction, arguing that BWB is an essential institution that supplies water to Blantyre City.

He said: “As it stands now, the interest of justice lies in the claimant staying home so that the institution can run while these issues are being resolved.

“Certainly, the operations of the institutions have to be guided, so someone has to be at the helm and guild.”

In his submission, Chihana’s lawyer Michael Goba Chipeta argued that the State did not demonstrate before the court how the operations were affected and that there were no documents indicating employees’ demonstrations.

The BWB board of directors suspended Chihana to pave the way for a disciplinary inquiry into allegations of misrepresentation, unauthorised appointments and a K500 million overdraft allegedly secured without the board’s approval.

In April, the board also suspended Chihana over a litany of allegations, including bypassing it in facilitating the arrests of acting directors.

Last week, BWB employees demonstrated, demanding the removal of chairperson Stanley Chirwa and Chihana out of the office.

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