BackThe Scholarship that Linda Chiwoyo got to study at Kinneret College in Israel, did not bring the joy it was supposed to, as it eventually cost her, her Job.
In 2017, Chiwoyo accepted a scholarship to study Agriculture Science in Israel after coming out top of her class at the Lilongwe University of Agriculture and Natural Resources (Luanar).
While out for studies, the Lilongwe District Council with approval from the Local Government Commission removed her from the payroll and later dismissed her from the position of enumerator on February 19, 2020.
The firing she said happened before the authorities heard her side of the story as they accused her of abscondment.
Having run out of options and engaging her employers in vain, Chiwoyo contacted the Office of the Ombudsman in Lilongwe-Malawi for help.
“The injustice affected me physically, psychologically, emotionally and the way of living. I stayed for four years without pay, and it was not easy. The many other people that depended on me were affected too. I was dismissed before they heard my side. I was never called for hearing. This was injustice,” she explained in a recent interview.
After receiving the complaint, the office of the Ombudsman followed up the matter with the Lilongwe District Council, Ministry of Agriculture and the Local Government Commission.
It was established that Ms Chiwoyo endeavored to obtain a study leave but the processes were not completed before her departure, since she was racing against time to catch up with commencement of her studies in Israel.
She said in her explanation that she did not receive any official response from authorities after she informed them of her purported study trip to the nation of Israel.
But later various correspondences and inquiries, the Office of the Ombudsman recommended her reinstatement asking government authorities to treat the time she was away as Study Leave without pay.
“The office of the Ombudsman is really a voice for people who have faced injustice. The office handles different cases and makes sure that justice has been achieved. I thank the office of the Ombudsman for the good job, without this office I would not have been reinstated, but now am back to work and able to support my family. Thank you the Office of the Ombudsman,” Chiwowyo reiterated.
The Office of the Ombudsman derives its powers to investigate any and all cases where it is alleged that a person has suffered injustice and it does not appear that there is any remedy reasonably available; from Constitution of the Republic of Malawi and the Ombudsman Act (Chapter 3:07 of the Laws of Malawi).
Source: Malawi Ombudsman
