IPC questions Noa’s two-month extension at ACC

The Independent Patriots for Change (IPC) has accused the Executive of overstepping its constitutional powers by extending the tenure of outgoing Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) director general Paulus Noa by two months without parliamentary approval.

In a statement issued on Thursday by IPC leader Imms Nashinge, the party says the president holds no unilateral constitutional power to extend a statutory tenure post-expiry without parliamentary authorisation.

“Bypassing parliament while the House was in recess undermines the doctrine of separation of powers and treats National Assembly decisions as secondary,” the statement says.

The party says it became aware that, during parliament’s recess, the Executive had extended Noa’s stay by a further two months on the basis that his retirement had “not started yet”.

Nashinge argues that Article 94A(5) of the Constitution and Section 4 of the Anti-Corruption Act vest the authority to appoint or extend the tenure of the ACC director general in the National Assembly, following executive nomination.

He says bypassing parliament while it was in recess undermines the separation of powers and treats National Assembly decisions as secondary.

Nashinge says decisions, search warrants, dockets and indictments authorised by a director general whose statutory term had expired could face legal challenges if the extension lacked explicit parliamentary approval.

The party further argues there is no operational need for three people to simultaneously lead the commission.