BLANTYRE-(MaraviPost)-The Malawi Civil Society Led Black Economic Empowerment Movement (MaBLEM) has demanded full accountability from former Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) Steve Kayuni, following what it describes as serious allegations of abuse of authority, selective prosecution and conduct inconsistent with Malawi’s constitutional values and international human rights standards.
Addressing the news conference on Friday, November 14, 2025 in the capital Lilongwe, MaBLEM Chairperson Robert Mkwezalamba and Coordinator Fryson Chodzi, MaBLEM said the concerns raised against the former DPP strike at the core of Malawi’s justice system.
The organisation stressed that while the Constitution grants the DPP independent prosecutorial powers, those powers must be exercised within the parameters of legality, transparency and respect for human rights.
MaBLEM expressed alarm over reports that Kayuni allegedly blocked the late Israera Bushiri, daughter of Prophet Shepherd Bushiri, from travelling abroad for urgent medical treatment, a decision the organisation believes contravened constitutional guarantees of the right to life and health, as well as obligations under the Convention on the Rights of the Child.
The movement said that if verified, such an action would amount to negligence, abuse of office and breach of public trust.
The organisation also raised concerns about the former DPP’s alleged refusal to release funds for the school fees of the daughter of former presidential aide Norman Chisale, despite a court order permitting reasonable living expenses.
MaBLEM said the decision reportedly resulted in the child being withdrawn from school, an outcome it described as punitive, irrational and a violation of constitutional and international rights to education.
Additionally, MaBLEM questioned reports that Kayuni initially withheld consent for the Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB) to prosecute former Cabinet Minister Kezzie Msukwa, allegedly due to personal relations.
The organisation said such conduct, if substantiated, would constitute conflict of interest and undermine the credibility of the prosecutorial system.
MaBLEM further condemned the pre-dawn arrest of former ACB Director General Martha Chizuma in December 2022, carried out over a defamation complaint reportedly initiated by Kayuni.
The movement said the arrest amounted to a misuse of State power, violated constitutional protections related to human dignity and fair treatment and contradicted international standards governing prosecutorial conduct.
The organisation has called on the Legal Affairs Committee of Parliament to institute an inquiry into Kayuni’s conduct, on the Malawi Human Rights Commission to investigate possible rights violations and on the Office of the President and Cabinet alongside the Judicial Service Commission to strengthen administrative safeguards against abuse of prosecutorial power.
MaBLEM said that where liability is established, appropriate civil or criminal action should follow.
MaBLEM noted that trust in the justice system can only be maintained when those entrusted with public power are held to the highest standards of accountability and integrity.
The organisation pledged to stand with individuals affected by alleged abuse of office and called for reforms to ensure that prosecutorial authority is never again used as a tool for personal vendetta.
