* He was already in Mzuzu on official duties accompanying former President Lazarus Chakwera, and only attended the meeting at the invitation of the then Secretary to the President & Cabinet (SPC), Colleen Zamba
* His role during the meeting was limited to that of an observer, assisting the Office of the President & Cabinet (OPC) in understanding the operations and governance of the Public Service Pension Trust Fund
By Innocent Manda, Patience Longwe & Pickson Chipeso
Former State House Chief of Staff, Prince Kapondamgaga, has denied playing any role in the controversial K128 billion purchase of Amallyris Hotel by Public Service Pension Trust Fund (PSPTF), telling Parliamentary Public Accounts Committee (PAC) that his presence at a meeting in Mzuzu on the transaction was incidental and not pre-arranged.
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Kapondamgaga explained that he was already in Mzuzu on official duties accompanying former President Lazarus Chakwera, and only attended the meeting at the invitation of the then Secretary to the President & Cabinet (SPC), Colleen Zamba.
He said his role during the meeting was limited to that of an observer, assisting the Office of the President & Cabinet (OPC) in understanding the operations and governance of the Public Service Pension Trust Fund.
Kapondamgaga further told the committee that he did not issue any instructions or guidance to the pension fund, stressing that any direction given during the meeting was institutional and came from the OPC, not from him personally.
He also said he did not engage in any written or verbal communication with officials from the Public Service Pension Trust Fund or any representatives linked to the Amaryllis Hotel transaction.
Amaryllis Hotel
On his authority to attend the meeting, Kapondamgaga maintained that he participated strictly as an invitee, emphasising that the pension fund is autonomous and that his presence did not interfere with its decision-making processes.
He added that he undertook no follow-up actions after the meeting and does not possess any documents, correspondence, or records related to the transaction, assuring the committee of his readiness to provide further clarification if required.
Appearing earlier before the PAC was PSPTF’s acting Principal Officer, Boyd Hamella, who defended the engagement of EMJ Advisory Public Accountants.
Hamella indicated that the firm was qualified and completed its work within the agreed timeframe for the Amaryllis Hotel acquisition, adding that EMJ Advisory was engaged under specific terms, and if they had exceeded the agreed days, it would have breached the agreement.
Hamella
“If they had gone beyond the agreed days, the agreement would have been breached and they should not have been paid,” he said, adding that EMJ director Emmanuel Chisale has earlier stated that his firm wasn’t a licensed property valuer but was engaged for business analysis, recommending the hotel’s value be between K115 billion and K145 billion.
He also made some allegations of document forgery in the acquisition of the Amaryllis Hotel, naming Planning and Investment Manager, Charity Phiri and Legal Services Manager, Marian Mpango that they allegedly forged signatures on official minutes of a board meeting held on January 17, 2024, which were required by investigators.
Hamella has said the fund initially failed to submit signed minutes to the Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB) because they were unavailable, but was later presented with a version purportedly signed by the former board chairperson and principal officer under unclear circumstances.
Hamella has told the committee that upon verification, former board chairperson James Daire Kumwenda denied signing the document, while the former principal officer did not confirm.
Hamella also disclosed that negotiations for the hotel were concluded on November 18, 2025 in Lilongwe at the seller’s offices, where the final agreed price was clarified as K128.75 billion.
The principal officer further revealed that shortly after concluding negotiations around 17h20, the fund received a directive from the Reserve Bank of Malawi (RBM) to halt all processes related to the transaction pending further engagement.
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Hamella added that on November 19, 2025, the fund held meetings with the Registrar of Financial Institutions in Salima and later with the Attorney General in Lilongwe following complaints from the Malawi Law Society, before submitting all required documentation to regulators and investigators.
The officer emphasised that the fund complied with directives from authorities, including a restriction order from the Anti-Corruption Bureau, but maintained that the emergence of allegedly forged documents raised serious governance and accountability concerns within the institution.
PAC also engaged RBM Governor, George Partridge, also assured that about K72.6 billion linked to the Amaryllis Hotel transaction has been frozen to safeguard the PSPTF funds.
Partridge
Speaking to journalists after engaging the committee, Partridge said the regulatory authority moved decisively to ring-fence the funds as part of ongoing enforcement and investigative processes surrounding the transaction.
According to Partridge, the intervention is anchored in regulatory compliance measures aimed at preserving financial system integrity while investigations into the conduct of the Public Service Pension Trust Fund trustees continue.
“We have taken steps to freeze approximately K72.6 billion out of K90 billion associated with this transaction to ensure that the funds are secured as investigations are underway,” Partridge said.
The Governor has also said the Central Bank had earlier issued explicit directives instructing trustees to halt all processes related to the acquisition, warning that any deviation constituted a breach of regulatory authority.
According to the presentation by RBM Director of Pension and Insurance Supervision, Kaluso Chihana, a structured review of engagements with the PSPTF highlights critical governance and process gaps in the proposed acquisition of the Amaryllis Hotel.
According to Chihana, on November 5, 2025, an exit meeting of the onsite examination was conducted where trustees expressed renewed interest in the acquisition, with the Registrar advising thorough due diligence while preliminary reviews were still underway.
The presentation highlighted that further developments on 14 November 2025 indicate that additional whistleblower information pointed to an accelerated acquisition process, with procurement reportedly finalised on 11 November, followed by contract negotiations on 12 November and a consultant valuation range between K115 billion and K145 billion on 14 November.
In the presentation projected, it further notes that the Investment Committee meeting was scheduled ahead of the board meeting of 19 November 2025, raising procedural concerns regarding sequencing and oversight in the decision-making framework.
On the financial position, the presentation outlines that as at 30 September 2025, PSPTF’s portfolio was heavily concentrated in listed equities at 67.20%, exceeding the recommended maximum of 60%, while other asset classes such as deposits, properties, and private debt remained within prescribed thresholds.
It also indicates that by November 2025, unlisted equities had risen to 17% following consideration of K128 billion, surpassing the regulatory ceiling of 10 percent, thereby constituting a breach of investment directives.
Further, the presentation highlights that in 2023, out of total assets valued at approximately K338.4 billion, about K47 billion, representing 21%, had no directive, pointing to longstanding compliance and portfolio governance deficiencies within the fund.—Edited by Duncan Mlanjira, Maravi Express
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