Zamba, Kapondamgaga Summoned as Amaryllis Scandal Tightens Grip on Previous State House Power Circle

The deepening investigation into the controversial purchase of Amaryllis Hotel has now reached the very heart of executive power, with former Secretary to the President and Cabinet Colleen Zamba and former Chief of Staff Prince Kapondamgaga summoned to appear before Parliament’s Public Accounts Committee (PAC). According to emerging reports, the two high-ranking officials are expected to face the committee in separate appearances this Thursday, in what is shaping up to be a decisive phase of an inquiry that has steadily exposed layers of influence, pressure, and possible irregularities surrounding the multi-billion kwacha hotel deal. Also expected to appear is former Public Service Pension Trust Fund board chairperson Chizaso Nyirongo—a central figure whose role has come under intense scrutiny as the person who ultimately signed off on the agreement to purchase the hotel.

The three have been repeatedly mentioned since the scandal first broke, but their expected appearances mark the first time they will be directly confronted in a formal parliamentary setting over their roles in a deal that has shaken public confidence in government decision-making. That refusal, now on record, has become a critical fault line in the investigation. It suggests that despite institutional resistance, powerful forces may have been pushing aggressively for the transaction to go through.

Even more contentious is the position of Nyirongo. At the time of her appointment to the pension fund board—and when she later signed the sale agreement—she was serving within the Office of the President and Cabinet. That overlap is now being viewed as a potential conflict of interest, intensifying concerns about whether the deal was driven by independent fiduciary judgment or influenced by executive proximity.

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Meanwhile, the PAC inquiry is far from over. The committee is still lining up key witnesses, including Attorney General Frank Mbeta, who is now expected to appear before Parliament after failing to attend an earlier scheduled session due to unspecified reasons. What is emerging is not just a procurement controversy, but a high-stakes confrontation between Parliament’s oversight authority and the inner workings of executive power.

Each testimony is adding pressure, each revelation widening the scope, and each unanswered question deepening public suspicion. At the center of it all lies a simple but explosive issue:who really drove the Amaryllis deal—and why? As Zamba, Kapondamgaga, and Nyirongo prepare to face lawmakers, the stakes could not be higher.

This is no longer just about a hotel purchase. It is about accountability at the highest levels of government—and whether those entrusted with power can be held to account when billions are on the line.

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