nyamadoke75
Member
- Apr 1, 2020
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THE JUNTA THAT STAGED A COUP TO OVERTHROW DIRECTOR GENERAL PROF. MARTIN LWANGA FROM POWER AT EASTERN AND SOUTHERN AFRICA MANAGEMENT INSTITUTE (ESAMI) WITHOUT FOLLOWING DUE PROCESS
The ESAMI Board, led by Mr Simon Masanga from Zimbabwe, removed the fifth ESAMI Director General Prof Martin Lwanga from Uganda without complying with employment and human rights laws.
Mr. Simon Masanga from Zimbabwe Chairman of the ESAMI Board accused of obstructing a $50,000 forensic audit, teaming up with the previous administration's management to remove the ESAMI Director General without following labour laws, rewarding employees accused of ESAMI funds embezzlement and using his office to discredit the ESAMI Director General.
Prof Martin Lwanga has been in office for a year and made significant transformation, including raising Institute’s revenue by 13% as compared to the year 2022, cutting unnecessary spending, including Tanzanians in the management of the Institute, raising salaries of staff, raising the minimum salary by 200%. He also increased the education allowance for the children of ESAMI employees by 100%, replaced the infrastructure of 1980 and modernised the dilapidated building infrastructure, and built a modern gate that introduces ESAMI at ESAMI HQ in Arusha, Tanzania,abolished sexual harassment by forming Staff welfare committee, continued the construction of the ESAMI Malawi building, and prevented the abuse of diplomatic immunity.
Prof. Martin Lwanga from Uganda who was removed from office without following labour laws, after making major changes at ESAMI including putting Tanzanians in charge, increasing income by 13% over and above that of the year 2022, implanting austerity measures to reduce unnecessary spending, raising workers' salaries, raising the minimum salaries by 200%. He increased the education allowance for the children of the workers by 100%, replaced the 1980s infrastructure with a modern set-up, built a prototype entrance to promote the campus, and continued the construction of the ESAMI Malawi building, created a Staff welfare committee to receive complaints of abuse, and prevented the abuse of diplomatic immunity.
In short there are five reasons why Prof Martin Lwanga was removed from Office without following due process;
Prof Martin Lwanga's decision to include Tanzanians in ESAMI management
ii.Prof Martin Lwanga's determination to make significant transformation to the interests of workers, investment in infrastructure and raising the minimum salaries.
iii. Plan by Director of Finance and Administration Dr. Kalaba working together with Chairman of the board Mr. Simon Masanga and the outgoing administration of Prof Mwape to prevent forensic Audit of theft of $50,000 and money laundering charges of that $50,000
iv. Plan to protect the interest of previous Management of Prof Bonard Mwape.
v. To protect abuse of the office of the Chair of the Governing Board and the ESAMI Lawyer.
Full details are as below;
i) The decision of Prof Martin Lwanga to include Tanzanians in ESAMI Management
Prof Martin Lwanga found the entire Management of his predecessor Prof Bonard Mwape was composed of foreigners only without a single representation of a local Tanzanian native. Prof Martin Lwanga considered this setup incorrect and decided to include two Tanzanians in Mr Leon Malisa and Prof Dr Luck Yona. This decision to continue with his predecessor's management and the addition of the two Tanzanians brought him great opposition because it destroyed their corruption plans.
ii. Prof Martin Lwanga's determination to make transformational changes to the interests of workers, investment in infrastructure and raising the minimum salaries.
When he started work, Prof Martin Lwanga began by holding meetings with all the working groups to find out the thoughts of all employees without discrimination. As a result of the meetings, he received information of many things that were not done well by the previous administration of Prof Bonard Mwape, including huge salary inequalities, staff not going on leave, huge gaps in fees paid for employees’ children, a lack of modern working tools, dilapidated campus infrastructure, staff bullying, sexual harassment and pregnant women abuse as well as abuse of diplomatic immunity by those who were in the top management of the outgoing administration.
After gathering the feedback of the staff he began to make changes that did not please some members of the previous administration who rushed to the Board Chair Mr Simon Masanga from Zimbabwe to accuse Prof Martin Lwanga of what they called 'misuse ' of institute funds.
Among the changes made by Prof Martin Lwanga in his one year of his reign are as follows; he increased institute’s revenue by thirteen (13%) of 2022 revenue, reduced unnecessary spending, increased workers' salaries and raised the minimum salaries by two hundred percent (200%). He increased education allowances for the children of ESAMI employees by one hundred percent (100%) to enable the children of low-wage workers to get a standard level of education. This was unlike the previous administration of Prof Mwape that was preventing people from going on leave, he ordered all workers to go on leave. About sexual harassment, Prof Martin Lwanga denounced the abuse and created a staff welfare committee to receive workers' complaints.
On the infrastructure side, Prof Martini Lwanga began by installing street li
installing street lights, CCTV cameras, paving roads, drilling wells to start irrigation (garden), creating a model gate that advertises the campus, removed the 1980s toilet systems and modernizing it, improving facilities, with the aim being (as he himself said) ESAMI Headquarters to match the status of a diplomatic Institute. He also continued the construction of the ESAMI Malawi building.
Regarding the abuse of diplomatic immunity, Prof Martin Lwanga received information that there was a misuse of diplomatic immunity during the outgoing administration and he issued a warning about the abuse of diplomatic immunity and promised that he would not tolerate such actions.
Every time he tried to do all these positive changes he found himself creating enemies who were accustomed to squandering Institute funds for their own benefit without considering the future of ESAMI. Among the people who fought to stop Prof Martin Lwanga are the Director of Finance and Administration, Dr David Kalaba from Zambia, Director of Marketing and Business Development Dr Chengetai Magunje from Zimbabwe, the Staff Representative to the Board, Prof Joseph Mumba from Malawi, Director of Business Development, Dr Peter Kiuluku from Kenya and lawyer Sipho Limbe from Malawi. These people were joined by Chair of ESAMI Governing Board, Mr Simon Masanga from Zimbabwe, and began the illegal tactics of removing Prof Martin Lwanga from power without following due process.
iii. Previous Administration's Goal to Prevent Audit of Theft (Forensic Audit) and bid to sanitize their $50,000 fraud
Management informed Prof Martin Lwanga that there were complaints of fraud of US$50,000 by Director of Finance and Administration, Dr David Kalaba in October 2022 which he withdrew by using a mere email, and without documents indicating recipient of the US$ 50,000.
Prof Martin Lwanga decided to report the issue to the Governing Board and request permission to conduct forensic audit but the Chair of ESAMI Governing Board Mr Simon Masanga from Zimbabwe advised against.
Dr. David Kalaba from Zambia, the Director of Finance and Administration of ESAMI who took the $50,000 of the Institute’s fund by email, conspired with Board Chairman Simon Masanga to promote him to Deputy Director General to prevent a fraud investigation against him as well, and persuaded Board Chair Simon Masanga to prevent the forensic audit of the theft of $50,000 of Institute Fund. He collaborated with the Institute’s Lawyer Mr Sipho Limbe from Malawi to prepare false charges against Prof Martin Lwanga so that can be spared and be freed from theft investigation. He is a key player in the fraud of $50,000 institute funds.
To the surprise of the management and staff, the Board under its Chair Simon Masanga from Zimbabwe prevented forensic audit of $50,000 fraud and audit of financial position of the institute.
Due to fact that, Prof Martin Lwanga did not receive office handover from his predecessor, and thus not knowing the financial and debt situation of the Institute, Prof Martin Lwanga found it important to know the state of the Institute financially. Management decided to form a committee made up of ESAMI retirees (retirees, Dr Jonathan Kilimba as team leader, ACPA John Majo, CPA Dr Peter Mitiambo as well as senior staff CPA Felix Kamau) to help him understand the financial status of the Institute and the reality of the fraud.
The committee's report showed that there was actually $50,000 taken by Dr David Kalaba without due process and the lack of the necessary documents of the beneficiary. As a result of the investigation, Dr David Kalaba agreed to have received the money and to have given it to the Director of Marketing and Business Development, Dr Chengetai Magunje pictured below:
Dr. Chengetai Magunje from Zimbabwe who colluded with Board Chair Simon Masanga also
from Zimbabwe to bring false charges against Prof Martin Lwanga, She is also accused by Finance Director Dr David Kalaba of receiving $50,000, which is not yet known where it ended, as well as being accused of attempts at sanitizing $50,000 fraud of institute funds.
The committee's report about the fraud of USD 50,000 funds was backed by year-end auditors (BDO auditors) who said the money was actually out of order and lacked the necessary documentation.
After the report's findings, Director of Finance and Administration, Dr David Kalaba from Zambia rushed to prosecute Prof Martin Lwanga (DG) to the Chair of ESAMI Governing Board Mr Simon Masanga from Zimbabwe for violating the Board's resolutions that had prevented Forensic Audit of US$ 50,000.
To the surprise of staff and management, Chair of the ESAMI Governing Board Mr Simon Masanga from Zimbabwe, chose to compromise integrity and protected fraud of ESAMI funds and joined hands with the suspect of fraud Dr David Kalaba.
Since then, the Chair of the ESAMI Governing Board, Mr Simon Masanga continued to work with Director of Finance and Administration Dr David Kalaba to torpedo Prof Martin Lwanga (DG) from executing his work until suspending him and ultimately sacking him without giving him the right to be heard.
iv. Plan to protect the interest of previous Management of Prof Bonard Mwape.
In an unusual twist, The Chair of ESAMI Governing Board, Mr Simon Masanga from Zimbabwe, who is supposed to be in charge of good governance and prevention of corruption in the workplace, chose to promote employees who committed various cases of fraud and sent complaints to him by phone and rewarded them with promotions, with Dr Peter Kiuluku becoming Acting Director General and the number one accused of fraud of US$50,000 Dr David Kalaba as Deputy Director General (this position did not exist for the entire 24 years of Prof Bonard Mwape), which is contrary to the principles of good governance, integrity, diplomatic immunity, and work ethics.
Dr. Peter Kiuluku is the main character in the plans to oust Prof Martin Lwanga without following labour laws, has been in the management of Prof Bonard Mwape for 15 years, as a result, he was awarded the title by Board Chair Mr.Simon Masanga as Acting Director General, used by Board Chair Simon Masanga to dismiss two employees without listening to them or following the labour laws. He made threats to expel any employee who opposes the decision of Board Chair Simon Masanga to promote him to Acting Director General without following proper labour laws of recruitment and promotion.
v. To protect office abuse committed by the office of the Chair of ESAMI Governing Board and ESAMI Lawyer.
a) The office of the Chair of ESAMI Governing Board interferes with the functioning of ESAMI management.
The main task of all the Governing Boards in the world is to manage the strategic planning of the company (strategic and corporate governance issues), but in an unusual situation, Chair of the ESAMI Governing Board Mr Simon Masanga from Zimbabwe through Acting Director General Dr Peter Kiuluku from Kenya and the Board Representative Prof Joseph Mumba from Malawi earlier in April 2024 sacked two employees who do not report to the Board, and issued them with letters of termination purported to be coming from the ESAMI Board’s Chair Mr. Simon Masanga. As part of the intimidation, Mr Masanga promised to sack all workers who opposed his unlawful decision to sack Prof Martin Lwanga and to promote the accused of sedition and fraud Dr Peter Kiuluku and Dr David Kalaba, which is not the job of the Board but the work of management.
On another occasion, on 04 March 2024 the Representative of the staff to the Board, Prof Joseph Mumba, informed the staff that he had never brought any charges against Prof Martin Lwanga at a Board meeting in December 2023 that was held in Namibia. He said he saw the Chair of the ESAMI Governing Board, Mr Simon Masanga from Zimbabwe reading the charges against Prof Martin Lwanga from his phone and made it a session agenda, which shows he had put his people inside the institute to give him information about Prof Martin Lwanga. This new way of leadership does not fit into ESAMI system and structure.
Prof. Joseph Mumba from Malawi, The Representative of Staff to the Board, was the run up in interview that put Prof Martin Lwanga in charge, denies being involved in bringing charges against Prof Martin Lwanga, and that the charges against Prof Martin Lwanga were that of Board Chair Simon Masanga which he was reading on the phone, co-operated with the Institute lawyer Mr Sipho Limbe from Malawi and made intimidation to the security guards and receptionists and ordered them to prevent Prof Martin Lwanga from returning to the office.
He announced that they would sack everyone who opposed the decision to unlawfully sack Prof Martin Lwanga. He orchestrated the dismissal of two employees without giving chance to be heard.
The proper procedure of the ESAMI Diplomatic Institution receives staff complaints through the Staff Welfare Committee or a staff meeting and is referred to the staff representative to the Board. During the said period, there was neither staff meeting held nor did the staff welfare committee receive any complaints from staff about Prof Martin Lwanga.
The decision by the Board Chair, Mr. Simon Masanga to pretend that he is the one who knows the problems of the staff rather than the staff themselves reflects the corrupt environment he operates in, it also discredits him as the Chair of ESAMI Governing Board.
b. The office of the chairman of the board used to discredit the Director General of ESAMI , Prof Martin Lwanga.
Although the Board Chairman's office had set a date for the meeting a month earlier, the date was kept secret and confidential to Prof Lwanga. This led to an invitation to reach Prof Martin Lwanga 12 hours before the session regardless of the distance of the journey from Arusha to Nairobi (284 km). This kind of disrespect by Board Chairman Simon Masanga to ESAMI Director General Prof Martin Lwanga is unacceptable.
c. The office of the chairman of the board and the office of the representative of the staff to the board joined hands with the Institute lawyer to prepare false charges against ESAMI Director General Prof Martin Lwanga.
In a surprise turn of events to the staff, the lawyer Mr Sipho Limbe who is supposed to report to Director General Prof Martin Lwanga turned to the office of the Board Chair. This led to lawyer and Board Chair Mr Simon Masanga planning to unlawfully oust Prof Martin Lwanga from Office.
On 04 March 2024, institute lawyer Sipho Limbe from Malawi, accompanied by the Board Staff Representative Prof Joseph Mumba also from Malawi, went to ESAMI institute and issued threats to the security guards and receptionists and warned them not to open the gate for Prof Martin Lwanga to return to the office. This act of aggression is contrary to his service contract and general laws governing employment laws.
Sipho Limbe from Malawi, the lawyer who advised the Board to prevent a audit of fraud of $50,000 against the ethos of his legal profession, was responsible for making threatening language against Receptionist and Security Guards staff and asked them to prevent Prof Martin Lwanga from entering the office. He served as the lawyer of Board Chair Simon Masanga against his labour contract. He is the main perpetrator of fabricating false charges against his employer Prof Martin Lwanga.
HISTORY OF ESAMI INSTITUTE
ESAMI is a diplomatic Institute founded in 1980, owned by ten countries, Arusha (Tanzania) being the headquarters. The Institute was originally owned by East African countries which are Tanzania, Uganda and Kenya. Afterwards at the OAU meeting, held in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia they incorporated seven southern African countries which are Mozambique, Malawi, Zambia, Seychelles, Eswatini, Namibia and Zimbabwe) and earned the name Eastern and Southern African Management Institute (ESAMI). The ESAMI Board is made up of the Permanent Secretaries of Public Service Commissions of each member state, who then choose the Chairman of the Board who is currently Mr Simon Masanga from Zimbabwe, his image below.
Simon Masanga (Zimbabwe) Chairman of the ESAMI Board accused of obstructing a $50,000 forensic audit, teaming up with the previous administration's management to remove the ESAMI Director General without following labour laws, rewarding employees accused of embezzlement, using his office to discredit the ESAMI Director.
PREVIOUS DIRECTOR GENERALS OF ESAMI
To date, ESAMI has been led by five directors, from Kenya (2), Zambia (2) and Uganda (1). The Director General is recruited among the member states through a competitive recruitment mechanism. Prof Bonard Mwape (Zambia) is the longest-serving Director General with 24 consecutive years, contrary to the agreement that established ESAMI which requires each Director to serve only two five-year terms.
THE SAGA BEHIND PROF.MARTIN LWANGA APPOINTMENT
Unlike the traditional procedure, the saga began with the July 2022 announcement of the position of Director General by citing the qualification of a person to be less than 60 years and with an MBA level, contrary to the requirements of the Institute's establishment contract. The advert was criticised by all staff as it aimed to remove Tanzanian Prof Dr Lucky Yonah who was 60 years old and having two PhDs by that time and showed the advert targeted Dr Chengetai Magunje, who had an MBA education and was below 60 years. Dr Chengetai Magunje was close to former Director General Prof Bonard Mwape. After the complaints, the announcement was changed to revoke the 60-year-old criterion and the MBA education requirement. The new advert required a person to be a professor or a doctor with ten years of experience in the higher service.
CALLING THE CANDIDATES TO THE INTERVIEW
The board approved five candidates for the Director-General's position from Tanzania (1), Kenya (2), Uganda (1) and Malawi (1)the Malawian was the only internal employee to enter the race. After the interview, only two incumbents succeeded to enter the penultimate stage namely,
1. Prof Martin Lwanga from Uganda
2. Prof Joseph Mumba from Malawi - the only ESAMI lecturer to enter the five-person race, and who was championed by the outgoing Director General Prof Bonard Mwape.
The ESAMI Governing Board declared Prof Martin Lwanga from Uganda the winner of the position of the fifth Director General of the ESAMI Diplomatic Institution in December 2022. Prof Martin Lwanga reported to work in February 2023 and was handed over to the office by the Acting ('caretaker'). His predecessor Prof Bonard Mwape did not come to hand him the office.
The ESAMI Board, led by Mr Simon Masanga from Zimbabwe, removed the fifth ESAMI Director General Prof Martin Lwanga from Uganda without complying with employment and human rights laws.
Mr. Simon Masanga from Zimbabwe Chairman of the ESAMI Board accused of obstructing a $50,000 forensic audit, teaming up with the previous administration's management to remove the ESAMI Director General without following labour laws, rewarding employees accused of ESAMI funds embezzlement and using his office to discredit the ESAMI Director General.
Prof Martin Lwanga has been in office for a year and made significant transformation, including raising Institute’s revenue by 13% as compared to the year 2022, cutting unnecessary spending, including Tanzanians in the management of the Institute, raising salaries of staff, raising the minimum salary by 200%. He also increased the education allowance for the children of ESAMI employees by 100%, replaced the infrastructure of 1980 and modernised the dilapidated building infrastructure, and built a modern gate that introduces ESAMI at ESAMI HQ in Arusha, Tanzania,abolished sexual harassment by forming Staff welfare committee, continued the construction of the ESAMI Malawi building, and prevented the abuse of diplomatic immunity.
Prof. Martin Lwanga from Uganda who was removed from office without following labour laws, after making major changes at ESAMI including putting Tanzanians in charge, increasing income by 13% over and above that of the year 2022, implanting austerity measures to reduce unnecessary spending, raising workers' salaries, raising the minimum salaries by 200%. He increased the education allowance for the children of the workers by 100%, replaced the 1980s infrastructure with a modern set-up, built a prototype entrance to promote the campus, and continued the construction of the ESAMI Malawi building, created a Staff welfare committee to receive complaints of abuse, and prevented the abuse of diplomatic immunity.
In short there are five reasons why Prof Martin Lwanga was removed from Office without following due process;
Prof Martin Lwanga's decision to include Tanzanians in ESAMI management
ii.Prof Martin Lwanga's determination to make significant transformation to the interests of workers, investment in infrastructure and raising the minimum salaries.
iii. Plan by Director of Finance and Administration Dr. Kalaba working together with Chairman of the board Mr. Simon Masanga and the outgoing administration of Prof Mwape to prevent forensic Audit of theft of $50,000 and money laundering charges of that $50,000
iv. Plan to protect the interest of previous Management of Prof Bonard Mwape.
v. To protect abuse of the office of the Chair of the Governing Board and the ESAMI Lawyer.
Full details are as below;
i) The decision of Prof Martin Lwanga to include Tanzanians in ESAMI Management
Prof Martin Lwanga found the entire Management of his predecessor Prof Bonard Mwape was composed of foreigners only without a single representation of a local Tanzanian native. Prof Martin Lwanga considered this setup incorrect and decided to include two Tanzanians in Mr Leon Malisa and Prof Dr Luck Yona. This decision to continue with his predecessor's management and the addition of the two Tanzanians brought him great opposition because it destroyed their corruption plans.
ii. Prof Martin Lwanga's determination to make transformational changes to the interests of workers, investment in infrastructure and raising the minimum salaries.
When he started work, Prof Martin Lwanga began by holding meetings with all the working groups to find out the thoughts of all employees without discrimination. As a result of the meetings, he received information of many things that were not done well by the previous administration of Prof Bonard Mwape, including huge salary inequalities, staff not going on leave, huge gaps in fees paid for employees’ children, a lack of modern working tools, dilapidated campus infrastructure, staff bullying, sexual harassment and pregnant women abuse as well as abuse of diplomatic immunity by those who were in the top management of the outgoing administration.
After gathering the feedback of the staff he began to make changes that did not please some members of the previous administration who rushed to the Board Chair Mr Simon Masanga from Zimbabwe to accuse Prof Martin Lwanga of what they called 'misuse ' of institute funds.
Among the changes made by Prof Martin Lwanga in his one year of his reign are as follows; he increased institute’s revenue by thirteen (13%) of 2022 revenue, reduced unnecessary spending, increased workers' salaries and raised the minimum salaries by two hundred percent (200%). He increased education allowances for the children of ESAMI employees by one hundred percent (100%) to enable the children of low-wage workers to get a standard level of education. This was unlike the previous administration of Prof Mwape that was preventing people from going on leave, he ordered all workers to go on leave. About sexual harassment, Prof Martin Lwanga denounced the abuse and created a staff welfare committee to receive workers' complaints.
On the infrastructure side, Prof Martini Lwanga began by installing street li
installing street lights, CCTV cameras, paving roads, drilling wells to start irrigation (garden), creating a model gate that advertises the campus, removed the 1980s toilet systems and modernizing it, improving facilities, with the aim being (as he himself said) ESAMI Headquarters to match the status of a diplomatic Institute. He also continued the construction of the ESAMI Malawi building.
Regarding the abuse of diplomatic immunity, Prof Martin Lwanga received information that there was a misuse of diplomatic immunity during the outgoing administration and he issued a warning about the abuse of diplomatic immunity and promised that he would not tolerate such actions.
Every time he tried to do all these positive changes he found himself creating enemies who were accustomed to squandering Institute funds for their own benefit without considering the future of ESAMI. Among the people who fought to stop Prof Martin Lwanga are the Director of Finance and Administration, Dr David Kalaba from Zambia, Director of Marketing and Business Development Dr Chengetai Magunje from Zimbabwe, the Staff Representative to the Board, Prof Joseph Mumba from Malawi, Director of Business Development, Dr Peter Kiuluku from Kenya and lawyer Sipho Limbe from Malawi. These people were joined by Chair of ESAMI Governing Board, Mr Simon Masanga from Zimbabwe, and began the illegal tactics of removing Prof Martin Lwanga from power without following due process.
iii. Previous Administration's Goal to Prevent Audit of Theft (Forensic Audit) and bid to sanitize their $50,000 fraud
Management informed Prof Martin Lwanga that there were complaints of fraud of US$50,000 by Director of Finance and Administration, Dr David Kalaba in October 2022 which he withdrew by using a mere email, and without documents indicating recipient of the US$ 50,000.
Prof Martin Lwanga decided to report the issue to the Governing Board and request permission to conduct forensic audit but the Chair of ESAMI Governing Board Mr Simon Masanga from Zimbabwe advised against.
Dr. David Kalaba from Zambia, the Director of Finance and Administration of ESAMI who took the $50,000 of the Institute’s fund by email, conspired with Board Chairman Simon Masanga to promote him to Deputy Director General to prevent a fraud investigation against him as well, and persuaded Board Chair Simon Masanga to prevent the forensic audit of the theft of $50,000 of Institute Fund. He collaborated with the Institute’s Lawyer Mr Sipho Limbe from Malawi to prepare false charges against Prof Martin Lwanga so that can be spared and be freed from theft investigation. He is a key player in the fraud of $50,000 institute funds.
To the surprise of the management and staff, the Board under its Chair Simon Masanga from Zimbabwe prevented forensic audit of $50,000 fraud and audit of financial position of the institute.
Due to fact that, Prof Martin Lwanga did not receive office handover from his predecessor, and thus not knowing the financial and debt situation of the Institute, Prof Martin Lwanga found it important to know the state of the Institute financially. Management decided to form a committee made up of ESAMI retirees (retirees, Dr Jonathan Kilimba as team leader, ACPA John Majo, CPA Dr Peter Mitiambo as well as senior staff CPA Felix Kamau) to help him understand the financial status of the Institute and the reality of the fraud.
The committee's report showed that there was actually $50,000 taken by Dr David Kalaba without due process and the lack of the necessary documents of the beneficiary. As a result of the investigation, Dr David Kalaba agreed to have received the money and to have given it to the Director of Marketing and Business Development, Dr Chengetai Magunje pictured below:
Dr. Chengetai Magunje from Zimbabwe who colluded with Board Chair Simon Masanga also
from Zimbabwe to bring false charges against Prof Martin Lwanga, She is also accused by Finance Director Dr David Kalaba of receiving $50,000, which is not yet known where it ended, as well as being accused of attempts at sanitizing $50,000 fraud of institute funds.
The committee's report about the fraud of USD 50,000 funds was backed by year-end auditors (BDO auditors) who said the money was actually out of order and lacked the necessary documentation.
After the report's findings, Director of Finance and Administration, Dr David Kalaba from Zambia rushed to prosecute Prof Martin Lwanga (DG) to the Chair of ESAMI Governing Board Mr Simon Masanga from Zimbabwe for violating the Board's resolutions that had prevented Forensic Audit of US$ 50,000.
To the surprise of staff and management, Chair of the ESAMI Governing Board Mr Simon Masanga from Zimbabwe, chose to compromise integrity and protected fraud of ESAMI funds and joined hands with the suspect of fraud Dr David Kalaba.
Since then, the Chair of the ESAMI Governing Board, Mr Simon Masanga continued to work with Director of Finance and Administration Dr David Kalaba to torpedo Prof Martin Lwanga (DG) from executing his work until suspending him and ultimately sacking him without giving him the right to be heard.
iv. Plan to protect the interest of previous Management of Prof Bonard Mwape.
In an unusual twist, The Chair of ESAMI Governing Board, Mr Simon Masanga from Zimbabwe, who is supposed to be in charge of good governance and prevention of corruption in the workplace, chose to promote employees who committed various cases of fraud and sent complaints to him by phone and rewarded them with promotions, with Dr Peter Kiuluku becoming Acting Director General and the number one accused of fraud of US$50,000 Dr David Kalaba as Deputy Director General (this position did not exist for the entire 24 years of Prof Bonard Mwape), which is contrary to the principles of good governance, integrity, diplomatic immunity, and work ethics.
Dr. Peter Kiuluku is the main character in the plans to oust Prof Martin Lwanga without following labour laws, has been in the management of Prof Bonard Mwape for 15 years, as a result, he was awarded the title by Board Chair Mr.Simon Masanga as Acting Director General, used by Board Chair Simon Masanga to dismiss two employees without listening to them or following the labour laws. He made threats to expel any employee who opposes the decision of Board Chair Simon Masanga to promote him to Acting Director General without following proper labour laws of recruitment and promotion.
v. To protect office abuse committed by the office of the Chair of ESAMI Governing Board and ESAMI Lawyer.
a) The office of the Chair of ESAMI Governing Board interferes with the functioning of ESAMI management.
The main task of all the Governing Boards in the world is to manage the strategic planning of the company (strategic and corporate governance issues), but in an unusual situation, Chair of the ESAMI Governing Board Mr Simon Masanga from Zimbabwe through Acting Director General Dr Peter Kiuluku from Kenya and the Board Representative Prof Joseph Mumba from Malawi earlier in April 2024 sacked two employees who do not report to the Board, and issued them with letters of termination purported to be coming from the ESAMI Board’s Chair Mr. Simon Masanga. As part of the intimidation, Mr Masanga promised to sack all workers who opposed his unlawful decision to sack Prof Martin Lwanga and to promote the accused of sedition and fraud Dr Peter Kiuluku and Dr David Kalaba, which is not the job of the Board but the work of management.
On another occasion, on 04 March 2024 the Representative of the staff to the Board, Prof Joseph Mumba, informed the staff that he had never brought any charges against Prof Martin Lwanga at a Board meeting in December 2023 that was held in Namibia. He said he saw the Chair of the ESAMI Governing Board, Mr Simon Masanga from Zimbabwe reading the charges against Prof Martin Lwanga from his phone and made it a session agenda, which shows he had put his people inside the institute to give him information about Prof Martin Lwanga. This new way of leadership does not fit into ESAMI system and structure.
Prof. Joseph Mumba from Malawi, The Representative of Staff to the Board, was the run up in interview that put Prof Martin Lwanga in charge, denies being involved in bringing charges against Prof Martin Lwanga, and that the charges against Prof Martin Lwanga were that of Board Chair Simon Masanga which he was reading on the phone, co-operated with the Institute lawyer Mr Sipho Limbe from Malawi and made intimidation to the security guards and receptionists and ordered them to prevent Prof Martin Lwanga from returning to the office.
He announced that they would sack everyone who opposed the decision to unlawfully sack Prof Martin Lwanga. He orchestrated the dismissal of two employees without giving chance to be heard.
The proper procedure of the ESAMI Diplomatic Institution receives staff complaints through the Staff Welfare Committee or a staff meeting and is referred to the staff representative to the Board. During the said period, there was neither staff meeting held nor did the staff welfare committee receive any complaints from staff about Prof Martin Lwanga.
The decision by the Board Chair, Mr. Simon Masanga to pretend that he is the one who knows the problems of the staff rather than the staff themselves reflects the corrupt environment he operates in, it also discredits him as the Chair of ESAMI Governing Board.
b. The office of the chairman of the board used to discredit the Director General of ESAMI , Prof Martin Lwanga.
Although the Board Chairman's office had set a date for the meeting a month earlier, the date was kept secret and confidential to Prof Lwanga. This led to an invitation to reach Prof Martin Lwanga 12 hours before the session regardless of the distance of the journey from Arusha to Nairobi (284 km). This kind of disrespect by Board Chairman Simon Masanga to ESAMI Director General Prof Martin Lwanga is unacceptable.
c. The office of the chairman of the board and the office of the representative of the staff to the board joined hands with the Institute lawyer to prepare false charges against ESAMI Director General Prof Martin Lwanga.
In a surprise turn of events to the staff, the lawyer Mr Sipho Limbe who is supposed to report to Director General Prof Martin Lwanga turned to the office of the Board Chair. This led to lawyer and Board Chair Mr Simon Masanga planning to unlawfully oust Prof Martin Lwanga from Office.
On 04 March 2024, institute lawyer Sipho Limbe from Malawi, accompanied by the Board Staff Representative Prof Joseph Mumba also from Malawi, went to ESAMI institute and issued threats to the security guards and receptionists and warned them not to open the gate for Prof Martin Lwanga to return to the office. This act of aggression is contrary to his service contract and general laws governing employment laws.
Sipho Limbe from Malawi, the lawyer who advised the Board to prevent a audit of fraud of $50,000 against the ethos of his legal profession, was responsible for making threatening language against Receptionist and Security Guards staff and asked them to prevent Prof Martin Lwanga from entering the office. He served as the lawyer of Board Chair Simon Masanga against his labour contract. He is the main perpetrator of fabricating false charges against his employer Prof Martin Lwanga.
HISTORY OF ESAMI INSTITUTE
ESAMI is a diplomatic Institute founded in 1980, owned by ten countries, Arusha (Tanzania) being the headquarters. The Institute was originally owned by East African countries which are Tanzania, Uganda and Kenya. Afterwards at the OAU meeting, held in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia they incorporated seven southern African countries which are Mozambique, Malawi, Zambia, Seychelles, Eswatini, Namibia and Zimbabwe) and earned the name Eastern and Southern African Management Institute (ESAMI). The ESAMI Board is made up of the Permanent Secretaries of Public Service Commissions of each member state, who then choose the Chairman of the Board who is currently Mr Simon Masanga from Zimbabwe, his image below.
Simon Masanga (Zimbabwe) Chairman of the ESAMI Board accused of obstructing a $50,000 forensic audit, teaming up with the previous administration's management to remove the ESAMI Director General without following labour laws, rewarding employees accused of embezzlement, using his office to discredit the ESAMI Director.
PREVIOUS DIRECTOR GENERALS OF ESAMI
To date, ESAMI has been led by five directors, from Kenya (2), Zambia (2) and Uganda (1). The Director General is recruited among the member states through a competitive recruitment mechanism. Prof Bonard Mwape (Zambia) is the longest-serving Director General with 24 consecutive years, contrary to the agreement that established ESAMI which requires each Director to serve only two five-year terms.
THE SAGA BEHIND PROF.MARTIN LWANGA APPOINTMENT
Unlike the traditional procedure, the saga began with the July 2022 announcement of the position of Director General by citing the qualification of a person to be less than 60 years and with an MBA level, contrary to the requirements of the Institute's establishment contract. The advert was criticised by all staff as it aimed to remove Tanzanian Prof Dr Lucky Yonah who was 60 years old and having two PhDs by that time and showed the advert targeted Dr Chengetai Magunje, who had an MBA education and was below 60 years. Dr Chengetai Magunje was close to former Director General Prof Bonard Mwape. After the complaints, the announcement was changed to revoke the 60-year-old criterion and the MBA education requirement. The new advert required a person to be a professor or a doctor with ten years of experience in the higher service.
CALLING THE CANDIDATES TO THE INTERVIEW
The board approved five candidates for the Director-General's position from Tanzania (1), Kenya (2), Uganda (1) and Malawi (1)the Malawian was the only internal employee to enter the race. After the interview, only two incumbents succeeded to enter the penultimate stage namely,
1. Prof Martin Lwanga from Uganda
2. Prof Joseph Mumba from Malawi - the only ESAMI lecturer to enter the five-person race, and who was championed by the outgoing Director General Prof Bonard Mwape.
The ESAMI Governing Board declared Prof Martin Lwanga from Uganda the winner of the position of the fifth Director General of the ESAMI Diplomatic Institution in December 2022. Prof Martin Lwanga reported to work in February 2023 and was handed over to the office by the Acting ('caretaker'). His predecessor Prof Bonard Mwape did not come to hand him the office.
