While official sources have confirmed Godfrey Itaye’s removal as director general at the Malawi Communications Regulatory Authority (MACRA), Itaye is understood to be refusing to leave.

Last week, local authorities, including the country’s Minister of Information, Civic Education and Communications Technology Mark Botomani, confirmed Itaye had been reassigned to the Malawi Posts Corporation (MPC) where he served prior to his move to MACRA.

MPC postmaster general Henry Shamu was appointed to replace Itaye at the regulator.

The local Nation newspaper also reported seeing a letter from the Comptroller of Statutory Corporations Stuart Ligomeka to MACRA board on 26 May 2020 stating, “Government has redeployed Mr. Henry Shamu, the director general of MPC to MACRA and Mr. Godfrey Itaye, the director general of MACRA to MPC where they will both serve as director generals with immediate effect.”

However, Itaye has reportedly claimed the government has no powers to remove him and that power rested exclusively with the Regulator.

It is also understood that MACRA’s board of directors had a meeting on 2 June to discuss the predicament.

Details of the meeting’s outcome are still sketchy, but media reports suggest the board is not interested to letting Itaye go at the moment.

Local publication Nyasa Times quoted a source at MACRA saying, “He is here working and has told some of his loyalists he will leave (if) the board of directors give him a letter, (but) the government has no powers to remove him.”

A source within the Ministry of Information, Civic Education and Communications Technology also confirmed Itaye’s removal and told ITWeb Africa: “the board of directors at MACRA is being cautious this time after MACRA lost a case in court in April (2020) involving Itaye’s predecessor who was swapped in a similar manner in 2014. The court ruled that Charles Nsaliwa was unfairly dismissed when he was removed from his position and redeployed at the ministry of Tourism and Culture and ordered MACRA to handsomely compensate Nsaliwa.”

MACRA has so far not responded to questions.