Amaryllis Hotel in Blantyre
* Acting ACB Director Gabriel Chembezi discovered to have represented one of the parties involved in the very transaction the ACB was purportedly investigating
* MLS demanded clarification regarding Chembezi’s role in the investigation and his overall personal involvement
* To date, the Bureau has not responded to the Malawi Law Society’s letter, nor has it provided the requested clarification
* MLS encourages members of the Pension Fund to demand accountability and transparency from the Board of Trustees and officers regarding this transaction
By Duncan Mlanjira
Malawi Law Society has issued a public statement that demands that the Public Service Pension Trust Fund (PSPTF) must immediately be rescind its decision to purchase of Amaryllis Hotel as directed by the Reserve Bank of Malawi (RBM) as the Registrar of Financial Institutions — “failing which further proceedings and sanctions shall be brought including criminal prosecution and/or court action for restitution of the Funds which have been paid to the seller”.
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The statement, issued by MLS chairman Davis Mthakati Njobvu and honorary secretary Francis Ekari M’mame further orders that in the spirit of accountability and transparency, the trustees and officers of the Fund and the Attorney General, must provide information to the public and the Fund’s members regarding the exact status of the transaction.
“Specifically, they must disclose the final purchase price, any moneys paid, the complete due diligence reports, the identity of any strategic partner or operator, and the specific advice, if any, received from the Reserve Bank,” says the statement.
The MLS also demands that the acting Director General of the Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB) Gabriel Chembezi “must immediately declare his interest in this matter and recuse himself from all further proceedings related to the impugned sale”.
Furthermore, Chembezi “must declare what benefit he received from the party he represented in this matter and that the Bureau must facilitate a new, transparent, and truly independent investigation into the entire transaction, from inception to conclusion”.
Acting ACB Director General, Gabriel Chembezi
The MLS issued a public statement November 19, 2025 expressing “grave concerns” regarding PSPTF’s proposal to purchase the Amaryllis Hotel in Blantyre using investment if the Pension Trust Fund, which was established to safeguard the retirement benefits of public service employees.
The MLS indicated that it issued the red flags in pursuance of its statutory mandate under section 64(d) of the Legal Education and Legal Practitioners Act; ‘to protect matters of public interest touching, ancillary or incidental to law” — stating that the PSPTF trustees and managers to act with the highest degree of prudence, diligence, and fidelity.
The Fund’s Board of Trustees — led by chairperson Chizaso Nyirongo — comprises Precious Chimbamba (vice-chairperson), Irene Chikapa, Chikondi Phiri, Arthur Manyunya, Bernard Nyondo, Mwayi Meki, Richard Zimba, Maxwell Tsitsi, Yona Phiri, Idrissa Mwale and Blazio Mphepo.
After following events unfold, that led to the Registrar of Financial Institutions, RBM Governor George Patridge to direct that the transaction must be rescinded, the MLS indicates that beyond issuing the November 19 public statement, it also wrote directly to the Attorney General and the RBM Governor, “requesting their urgent intervention in the proposed transaction”.
“In these letters, the Society highlighted the following critical allegations:
(a) The absence of independent due diligence by a hotel expert and the failure to secure a strategic partner, including the identification of a prospective operator — thereby exposing the Fund to significant operational and financial risks;
(b) That the organisation which prepared the second Viability Business Analysis Report, that endorsed the purchase, shares ownership links with the hotel itself, raising serious questions about the report’s accuracy, independence, and objectivity;
(c) That the cost of the hotel has been significantly inflated and may not reflect its actual market value. Such inflation, if confirmed, would adversely affect the Fund and the investments of its members; and
(d) That the transaction was being rushed to a conclusion at an alarming speed.”
The MLS further takes cognizance that the PSPTF new board was only reconstituted in September 2025 and had not been given sufficient time to appreciate the deal’s complex and questionable history, “yet was being pressured to finalise it — as according the MLS’ sources.
“This was particularly concerning given that the previous board, acting on expert advice, had already rejected this very deal,” says the MLS, adding that in response to their press statement, ACB acting Director, Gabriel Chembezi “immediately issued a restriction notice against proceeding with the sale of Amaryllis Hotel until investigations into the allegations the Society had raised were concluded”.
“The notice barred the Principal Officer of the Fund from allowing the acquisition or purchase of any hotel using Fund assets without the Acting Director’s prior written consent.
“The Bureau subsequently requested a meeting with the Society’s Chief Executive Officer, scheduled for December 11, 2025, as part of its investigation. However, the Society declined to provide information to the Bureau until significant concerns were addressed.
“This decision was based on information received by the Society indicating that the acting Director General of the Bureau [a legal counsel] was representing one of the parties involved in the very transaction the Bureau was purportedly investigating.
“In the Society’s view, this situation presented a serious conflict of interest, as the individual leading the investigative body had a direct personal stake in the matter,” says the MLS, while also indicating that it formally communicated its position and refusal to engage with the ACB in a letter dated December 11 2025.
“The letter demanded clarification regarding the acting Director General’s role in the investigation and his overall personal involvement, emphasising the fundamental issue of an official with a direct personal interest heading the institution tasked with investigation.
“To date, the Bureau has not responded to the Society’s letter, nor has it provided the requested clarification,” says the MLS while indicating that the office of Registrar of Financial Institutions, then RBM Governor McDonald Mafuta Mwale, acknowledged receipt of its letter and expressed his ‘sincere appreciation to the Society for taking keen interest in this national issue’ and undertook to respond to share the RBM’s position on the matter.
However, Mafuta Mwale was replaced as RBM Governor by George Patridge before providing a response and that the Attorney General acknowledged MLS’ letter and “undertook to investigate the issues raised”.
McDonald Mafuta Mwale’s letter to the Board
“In a letter dated 28 December 2025, the Attorney General reported that he undertook the investigation and accordingly advised the Society that his investigation established the following:
(a) There was no evidence that the Board of the Fund passed a resolution in January 2024 not to proceed with the purchase of the Hotel based on a Fund Manager’s advice that the transaction was not viable;
(b) The business assessments carried out by experts indicated that the business was viable;
(c) Independent due diligence was conducted by experts, and the business analysis and recommendations did not present any risk of conflict of interest;
(d) There was no evidence that the new Board was unduly or otherwise pressured to approve the transaction that a previous Board had rejected;
(e) There was no evidence supporting any allegations of suspicious timing of key personnel changes in relation to the Board resolution to proceed with the transaction;
(f) The three business evaluation reports by experts that were engaged in the transaction comprehensively analysed the various risks likely to be involved in the transaction and the management/mitigation thereof;
(g) In relation to allegations of inflated pricing, the transaction could not be faulted based on the risks involved, as the price derived from expert analysis of attendant market variables; and
(h) There was no sufficient evidence to suggest corrupt practices or abuse of office by public officers involved in the transactions.
Attorney General Frank Farouk Mbeta
Furthermore, the MLS reports that the Attorney General indicated that he advised the PSPTF Board ‘to once again review the attendant risks and satisfy itself of the available mechanisms for the management/mitigation thereof…and to proceed with and conclude the transaction in the best interests of the Fund and its members’.
The MLS thus observes that “according to information in the public domain, it is clear that the Fund proceeded with the transaction and certain payments have been made to the sellers”.
“It is our understanding that the Office of the Registrar of Financial Institutions is concerned that the transaction may have been concluded against its advice,” says the MLS and goes further to comment on the events that have transpired:
(1) The Attorney General, the Acting Director of the Bureau, the Reserve Bank Governor Office of the Registrar of Financial Institutions, and the trustees and officers of the Fund all hold public office on trust.
“They have a fiduciary duty to act in the interests of the public and the members of the Fund, and their decisions must reflect this obligation. The Society notes with concern that decisions regarding this transaction have been made at a supersonic pace, which raises serious questions about whether the officers involved have prioritized their fiduciary duties;
(2) The Society views with grave concern the letter dated 18 December 2025, in which the Acting Director of the Bureau cleared the officers involved in the transaction. This clearance is particularly troubling given that:
(a) The Bureau had previously sought information from the Society as part of its investigation;
(b) The Society had sought clarification regarding the Acting Director’s potential conflict of interest; and
(c) The Bureau proceeded to clear the officers without providing the requested clarification or declaring the Acting Director’s interest in the matter.
“These circumstances cast serious doubt on the credibility of the Bureau’s purported investigation. It is further concerning that an investigation into a transaction of this magnitude was concluded by the Bureau in less than one month, while the Attorney General’s review took nearly six weeks. Such speed is difficult to reconcile with the complexity of the issues involved.
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Thus the MLS recommending as a way forward that the transaction must be rescinded immediately as directed by the Registrar of Financial Institutions and that the PSPTF Board “must issue a detailed public statement as to how they arrived at the decision to proceed”.
“It must explain how the reported purchase price was determined, how the identified risks were intended to be managed, and how this investment serves the best interests of the Fund’s members.
“Members of the Fund should demand accountability and transparency from the Fund’s trustees and officers regarding this transaction,” says the MLS, adding that it will “continue to monitor this matter closely and will not hesitate to take further action to ensure that the trust placed in our public institutions is not betrayed”.
Interestingly, the PSPTF Board is also using the same pension funds to construct a state-of-the-art hospitality facility at Khristwick along Masauko Chipembere Highway in Blantyre close the Crock Tower roundabout and next to Build Africa complex — to be named Lifestyle @ Cresta Hotel.
The artistic impression of the hotel under construction
The hotel, which will have 107 rooms and a 300-seat conference hall, is touted to boost tourism and stimulate economic growth and that the project has already created jobs during its construction phase and is expected to generate more employment once completed.
When former Minister of Tourism in the Malawi Congress Party (MCP) administration, Vera Kamtukule, toured the construction site last year, the PSPTF indicated that this is one of the various investments the pension fund (PSPTF) “is undertaking to secure a sustainable future for public servants”.
However, the project seems to have stalled in its progress as there is little activity on the ground since June 2025 when the former Minister of Tourism visited the construction site.
