KUHeS probe confirms bullying allegations, calls for disciplinary action

A PIJ investigation exposed bullying and various abuses of office at the public university. Now an official inquiry has confirmed the allegations and recommended disciplinary action against two senior officials at the center of the allegations.

Reports faults Prof Jane Mallewa, a senior member of academic staff  (PICTURE SOURCE: INTERNET)

By Josephine Chinele

An official investigation by the Kamuzu University of Health Sciences (KUHeS) has confirmed allegations of bullying and other abuses by senior members of staff at the public university, months after a PIJ investigation exposed the abuses.

The report has further faulted the institution for failing to act on previous complaints by students and staff about allegations of bullying, leading to a culture of impunity and fear for reprisals.

A specially constituted taskforce has specifically called for disciplinary action against senior academic staff and further confirmed various incidents reported by PIJ centering on activities in the Bachelor of Medicine Bachelor of Surgery (MBBS) program.

The university refused to comment on the report when contacted by PIJ, saying no official report has been released on the matter.

“We have not released any report,” KUHeS Registrar, Christopher Namagowa told PIJ vi WhatsApp communication and refused to take further questions.

The in-depth PIJ investigation  published in February this year, was prompted by a dramatic rise in KUHeS’ student withdrawals in their final year and revealed how the same withdrawn students excelled academically elsewhere, the emotional and financial impact of the actions, among others.

In November, NCHE directed KUHeS to re-admit 77 students withdrawn from MBBS over the alleged bullying after a separate independent inquiry.

In a 56-page report titled: “A Report on the Media Allegations of Irregular MBBS Curriculum Development and Implementation, Bullying, and Systematic Withdrawal of Students on Academic Grounds at KUHeS”  sourced by PIJ, a task force instituted by the university’s council singled out the former Head of the Internal Medicine Department, Professor Jane Mallewa as a major culprit for the alleged bullying but also said other  lecturers from other departments and staff doctors working under the Ministry of Health also participated in the bullying.

Mallewa, who previously denied any wrongdoing in the February PIJ investigation, said she was yet to see contents of the report to comment on the matter when contacted.

“Please note that I refuse to comment on the issues you have raised because the report has not been shared with me by KUHeS,” she wrote via WhatsApp.

She added: “Rules of natural justice require that I should be afforded an opportunity to be heard and interrogate those making the allegations. So commenting now, I will be commenting on speculation which I refuse to be drawn into. Additionally, some of those that have made allegations have been through the courts which have correctly dismissed them (I will share the court judgment).”

‘A military-like’ atmosphere

But the report accuses Mallewa of using foul, demeaning and threatening language against students and fellow academic staff including in front of patients and fellow students and said she would regularly threaten to “torpedo your career”.

One complainant is quoted saying Mallewa also regularly cursed ‘Fuck you,’ in front of patients and other students. 

Among others, the report says the investigation used focus group discussions participated by current MBBS students who also alleged Mallewa’s continuous use of inappropriate language such as “shit” “That’s Rubbish”, “Stupid”, “Dog”, “Bullshit” and “Fuck you” during academic sessions.

The report also cites some management and faculty members, who were alumni of the University, who also testified being shouted at in the presence of fellow students during hospital ward rounds, with one faculty member reporting to have at one point filed a bullying complaint to the Dean of Faculty, but no action was taken. 

Students at KuHes pictured in the university’s Blantyre campus library (PICTURE SOURCE: INTERNET)

“About 50% of the students that were interviewed witnessed their fellow students being shouted at by some supervisors using foul language, especially during hospital ward rounds and case presentations,” the report says.

The task force determination on Dr Thandie Mwalukomo is that there is no substantial evidence to suggest that she was directly engaged in bullying students as alleged in the media reports.

While the task force found  that Mwalukomo, Head of  Internal Medicine Department (HoD) did not participate in the bullying, it faulted her for negligence in failing to address concerns raised to her. 

“It would appear the HoD was unable to manage the situation, and the taskforce was not provided with any evidence to suggest that she had brought the matter to higher authority for resolution.  Obviously, the HoD neglected her responsibilities and did not provide a respectful and safe environment for the staff and students under her supervision. The Task Force considers this a disciplinary issue and recommends to KUHeS council for further action,” reads the report.

Mallewa and Mwalukamo could not be immediately reached for a fresh comment on the matter.

According to the report, in 2022, the whole MBBS class complained to the former Dean of Medicine about the bullying in the program. The former Dean acted on the matter by asking Mallewa to step down as HoD for Internal Medicine and no was replaced by Mwalukomo. Mallewa was assigned to be Post Graduate Coordinator in Internal Medicine.

Former and current students further told the taskforce that MBBS students lived in fear due to the bullying allegations in the School of Medicine and Oral Health. 

“Students were afraid to report for fear of reprisals while some lecturers {who were also bullied} reported it but no action was taken,” reads part of the leaked report.

The report said officials treated medical students and staff “as if the military” and raised concerns that students were failing examinations and withdrawn from the university based on recommendations of members of staff including those whose conduct the report brought into question.

On complainants alleging that students, particularly those enrolled into an MBBS programme, were withdrawn on academic grounds deliberately and irrespective of their academic performance,  the report said it was unlikely that the university through its systems of checks of balances could deliberately fail students.

“Furthermore, most of the participants in the survey/interview, including former and current students, denied the existence of systematic withdrawal of students on academic grounds at the University,” reads the report.

However, the report conceded that the subjective nature of continuous assessment poses a risk of abuse and manipulation and recommended  development of objective strategies to ensure that attitude assessment is not abused to negatively impact some students for non-academic reasons.

Among others, the report has recommended that KUHeS strengthen systems to support students that struggle academically to avoid wastage of human capital through withdrawal, ensuring that all programmes incorporate and implement multiple entry and multiple exit system in their curricula, KUHeS must provide students with the relevant curriculum information and that any changes in the curriculum are timely communicated.

The report also calls for establishment of an ombudsman to handle complaints from staff and students including those that have potential for reprisals.