Kefa Mafumo Storms As NRM Officials Are Accused of Secret Shortlisting, Immediate Halt To District Secretary Recruitment Takes Shape

A sharp internal challenge has erupted within the National Resistance Movement in Manafwa District after the chairperson of the party’s Entrepreneurs League formally accused local leaders of bypassing official recruitment rules and moving ahead with a closed shortlist for the powerful District Administrative Secretary post.

In a strongly worded letter dated 18 October 2026 and addressed to the District Chairman, Walimbwa Charles P, Mafumo Kefa of the NRM Entrepreneurs League, Manafwa District, said he had never seen any public advertisement for the vacancy despite clear party guidelines requiring adequate publicity. Yet he had already received an invitation to attend a vetting meeting at which four candidates were reportedly already shortlisted.

“I therefore seek clarification on who shortlisted the candidates, the criteria used, where the vacancy was advertised, and whether the recruitment process followed the established guidelines,” Kefa wrote.

Invoking the party’s popular slogan “Kisanja Hakuna Mchezo,” the Entrepreneurs League chairperson called for an immediate suspension of the planned Tuesday vetting and demanded that the position be properly advertised from Monday 19 October to Thursday 23 October 2026, in line with guidelines issued by the NRM Secretary General. He insisted that only a transparent and fair process would uphold the integrity of the selection and guarantee equal opportunity for all eligible candidates.

Kefa warned that continuing with unofficial arrangements risked compromising neutrality and fairness. He urged the District Chairman either to correct the process or to step aside if he felt conflicted. The letter closes with a pointed reminder that the slogan of seriousness and discipline “must be reflected not only in our words, but also in our actions.”

Copies of the letter were marked for wider circulation, signalling that the dispute is unlikely to remain private. The intervention by the Entrepreneurs League adds a new layer of internal scrutiny just as the party seeks to fill a key administrative post in the district.

Whether the District Chairman will heed the call to halt the current process and reopen the vacancy remains to be seen. What is already clear is that the demand for transparency has now been formally placed on the record, putting the recruitment of the Manafwa District Administrative Secretary under intense local spotlight.