By Innocent Manda
The Public Accounts Committee (PAC) has heard fresh allegations of document forgery in the acquisition of the Amaryllis Hotel, with Acting Principal Officer for the Public Service Pension Trust Fund (PSPTF), Boyd Hamella, naming two senior officials.
According to Hamella, Planning and Investment Manager Charity Phiri and Legal Services Manager Marian Mpango 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 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, the former board chairperson James Daire Kumwenda denied signing the document, while the former principal officer did not confirm.
Meanwhile, Hamella has 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 5:20 PM, the fund received a directive from the Reserve Bank of Malawi to halt all processes related to the transaction pending further engagement.
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 has emphasized 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.
