Mambala Caught Pants Down, Allegedly Financing HRDC Reregistration

The Malawi’s Presidential Advisor on Civil Society Organisation’s (CSOs) Luther Mambala’s self publication of images and text of a meeting with alleged Southern Region members of the Human Rights Defenders Coalition (HRDC) has raised public suspicion behind the recent decion by gocernment arm to deregister the organisation.

Screenshot images showing Mambala hosting a meeting and text confirming hosting a meeting with alleged Southern chapter of HRDC are in circulation on social media amid suspicious decision by the Non-Governmental Organisation’s Regulatory Authority’s (NGORA) publication of a notice of intention to deregister HRDC.

NGORA publiched in local papers this week intention to deregister HRDC and other has come under public scruitiny over recent publication of images on his WhatsApp status mistakenly published his clandestine meeting with fake HRDC members on his WhatsApp status.

Currently, NGORA (Non-Governmental Organisation’s Regulatory Authority) has published and notice of intention to cancel registration of HRDC and other 35 unknown NGOs.

“NGO Regulatory Authority (NGORA) hereby notifies the public public that the following Non-Governmenta Organisations have been issued with letters giving them a thirty day notice of intention to cancel registration. The rest on non-compliant NGOs have been issued with either a warning or a fine,” Reads the notice.

While the recent notice raised public suspicion, the emergence of screenshots from purpoted WhatsApp account of a Presidential Advisor has reignited serious scepticism about the actual intentions by the government arm to deregister a human rights institution renowned for demanding accountability and transparency from public institutions and public officers including fighting corruption.

In of the screenshots has a message from Mambala WhatsApp status reading; ” Thats Executive members for Southern Region”, while other message reads. “We drew HRDC members from Mulanje, Neno, BT, Mwanza, Chikwawa, Phalombe and Chiradzulu.”

The development comes as a suspicious act from the Presidential Advisor as the said purpoted members have been in courts to call for immediate halt of operarations of the HRDC fresh electoral conference to elect new leadership.

It is alleged that NGORA had met with HRDC and told the representatives that it will deregistered because it had board members whose mandate haf expired.

HRDC has maintained that the Southern chapter individuals calling for the leadership change are not legitimate members of the organisation and that their claim is suspicious and comes at a time when President Peter Mutharika who does not like the organisation over 2020 demonstrations had instructed NGORA leadership and Mambala to make sure that HRDC is not functional under his leadership.