The Malawi Local Government Association (MALGA) has expressed its readiness to face the Attorney General in the Supreme Court over the management of the Constituency Development Fund (CDF) and Water Resource Fund at the council level.
This comes after Attorney General Thabo Chakaka Nyirenda announced plans to appeal a Constitutional Court ruling that stripped Members of Parliament (MPs) of their management roles over these funds.
According to MALGA Chief Executive Officer Hadrod Mkandawire, the association is prepared to defend its position in the Supreme Court. “We are ready, we will meet at the Supreme Court,” Mkandawire stated in an interview with MIJ Online.
This development highlights the ongoing dispute between MALGA and the Attorney General over the management of these funds.
The Constitutional Court in Lilongwe recently ruled that MPs would no longer manage the CDF and Water Resource Fund at the council level, a decision that has sparked controversy and debate.
The Attorney General’s decision to appeal the ruling has led to MALGA’s preparedness to face the legal challenge in the Supreme Court.
As the case progresses, it remains to be seen how the Supreme Court will rule on the matter. Given the Attorney General’s history of engaging in legal battles, with notable cases including the appeal against the High Court’s decision on immigration matters, it’s clear that this case will be closely watched.
The outcome of this case will have significant implications for local governance and development in Malawi.
As MALGA and the Attorney General prepare to face off in court, stakeholders are eagerly awaiting the Supreme Court’s decision.
The case is expected to have far-reaching consequences for the management of CDF and Water Resource Fund, and will likely impact the delivery of services to communities across the country.
BLANTYRE-(BLANTYRE)-The Center for Democracy and Economic Development Initiatives (CDEDI) is demanding for an immediate intervention from the Office of Attorney General to take action by challenging Court order on freezing SSCL bank accounts.
In a letter copied to Salima Sugar Company Limited and Green Belt Authority, CDEDI Executive Director Sylvester Namiwa wants the commitment made by Attorney General Thabo Chakaka-Nyirenda in recovering public finances come to pass.
Namiwa is against the current trend of selective justice that is portraying the office of the Attorney General as among compromised agencies.
The call by CDEDI are coming after Malawians have had a rude awakening from verified media reports indicating that the High Court had ordered the freezing of the SSCL’s bank accounts yet it has been on the mercy of its stakeholders.
For instance Mount Meru which also had its bank accounts frozen oover dubious exportation of 1,500 MT Salima Sugar to Rwanda and asked the current management of SSCL to have mercy as the company was willing to be a government witness.
The Attorney General has been reminded that the SSCL was set up to among others provide the much-needed competition to the Illovo dominated sugar industry, for the betterment of the majority low-income consumers that are struggling to access the basic commodity, fortified with Vitamin A supplement.
“For your own information, Illovo has raised sugar prices twice this year, in a space of six months, therefore Malawians’ eyes are fixed at the developments unfolding at the SSCL to provide affordable sugar, hence their interest on this matter,” says Namiwa.
The government principal legal advisor has since been urged to challenge the High Court ruling as well as ensuring that the remaining suspects are arrested, starting with their local agents, who are currently facilitating the freezing of the SSCL’s bank accounts.
Chakaka-Nyirenda has also been ordered to give a progress report and justify the apparent selective application of justice on arrests, including how much in cash and assets has been recovered so far, ten months after committing to address the vice.
“Failure to do the needful, will prompt Malawians to conclude that you are too compromised to defend public interests, therefore, the noble thing to do is to force you Sir, to resign since you made that public undertaking while fully aware of its implications,” reads the letter from CDEDI and the office of the Attorney General has confirmed receipt of the same.
The recent media reports that the High Court’s commercial division in Blantyre has barred Salima Sugar Company Limited (SSCL) from using $2.3 million (about K5.3 billion) in its bank accounts, pending the conclusion of an outstanding case between the firm and Mukteshwar Sugar mills Limited, coupled with the Illovo Sugar price hike, has reminded Malawians of an undertaking AG Chakaka-Nyirenda publicly made on December 5, 2023 when officially unveiling the contents of the November 2023 forensic audit commissioned by the Malawi Government on SSCL, which brought to light reports that about US$30 million (about MK51 billion) was misappropriated.
He made the pledge through a televised press briefing where Malawians were assured that all the money would be recovered and those involved would be arrested with their assets forfeited to recover the public funds, some of which included public debts.
Initially SSCL Chairman Shirieesh Betgiri, was arrested and the national police spokesperson Peter Kalaya told the nation that the police had secured five warrants of arrests for Betgiri, Dr. Henry Njoloma, Prashant Sharma, Vikas Hirawatt and Sachin Nikam.
While there was a commitment by the Malawi Police Service to bring suspects home so that they can answer the charges in court, there has been deafening silence on the matter until in May this year when Media reported that Mount Meru is off the hook having appealed for mercy.
…..Attorney General (AG) Nyirenda shined the meeting
Mark Botomani PAC chairperson
LILONGWE-(MaraviPost)-After holding journalists for hours at the parliament building waiting for Attorney General (AG) Thabo Chakaka Nyirenda to appear before the Public Accounts Committee (PAC)’s public inquiry on Eastbridge saying the committee could not continue with the probe.
Addressing the media on Tuesday, September 12, 2023, PAC Chairperson Mark Bottomani said the committee sent a letter to all relevant stakeholders including the AG office, Malawi Law Society (MLS), PPDA, and Ministry of Finance.
Botomani said the stakeholders mentioned brought documents that made them cancel the public inquiry.
He disclosed that after scrutinising documents there was nothing to count on.
Botomani further said the committee learned that the sovereign guarantee which was made by the Ministry of Finance was withdrawn.
The committee decided staying at the parliament building for hours waiting for AG Nyirenda.
In an interview with the Parliamentary Committee on Agriculture, Chairperson, Sammer Suleiman who has been advocating the public inquiry said he could not say more on the inquiry cancellation arguing that some truth in the matter has been suppressed.
“I can’t say much but I see some truth being depressed here,” said Suleiman.
Kawale and Zamba
Minister of Agriculture Sam Kawale last month announced the cancellation of the East Bridge fertilizer fake deal.
LILONGWE-(Investigator Magazine)-The touted Directors of alleged Romanian-based East Bridge Estates Srl which signed the controversial MK250 billion fertilizer deal are all out of the country, raising fears they have bolted with an unspecified amount of money, nobody can point its source.
Paul Mphwiyo, closely linked to the East Bridge Estates Srl deal, flew from Lilongwe to Blantyre on June 22, 2023, and slept at Ryalls Hotel before a government Toyota Prado TX drove him away the following day.
Criminal Investigations Department Police Officers briefly detained the hotel official quizzing her on the whereabouts of Mphwiyo. They later released her after she told them Mphwiyo left the hotel.
Police on Tuesday confirmed to the local Daily Times newspaper that they were hunting for Paul Mphwiyo, suspected to have been the mastermind behind the Cashgate scandal, and delivery of the 10-year-old case judgment has now been delayed as he has bolted.
The two known names linked to East Gate company- Ted Moya was traced to Nairobi in Kenya on Friday, while Likhwa Mussa who signed as a witness could not be reached within Malawi. Mussa was reported to have landed in Dubai on Tuesday morning as we finalized the story.
A third Director whose name has not been public made public is Ms. Mphwiyo apparently related to Mphwiyo and was used as a proxy to the fertiliser deal.
The link between Mphwiyo and the East Bridge Estates Srl was hidden in a statement by the company which alleged to have paid in advance the fertilizer and is expected, according to the agreement to arrive in Malawi by 25th of July, 2025.
Both the Ministry of Agriculture and the Ministry of Finance could not respond to allegations that some funds or some financial instrument were used to obtain funds by the controversial firm whose address The Investigator Magazine tracked to a filling station in the suburbs of the Romanian Capital Bucharest.
Some huge cash movements, buying of Forex
The Investigator Magazine was informed of cash transactions of up to K100 million in one of the Directors’ accounts at a commercial bank (name withheld for now) in Lilongwe, but could not ascertain the source and the final destination of the funds, raising fears that government could have either paid or its financial instruments raised for cash.
“The gentleman associated with the deal received K100 million and this was removed from the account and then it disappeared, it was well known among his associates that he had hit the jackpot,” said our source.
A second businessman said the amount could have been higher than K100 million as the East Bridge group bought most of the dollars out of the market in Lilongwe.
“The kwacha hit K1800 in Lilongwe due to the demand created by these fertilizer guys. Now they bought off most of the dollars, the rates are going down to around K1650” said our second source.
Mphwiyo and a forex trader from Lilongwe went to Blantyre together to look for more dollars before he was escorted out of Malawi.
We have confirmed among black-market dealers in Lilongwe that the rate has gone down.
Contract on or off, paid or not
The Investigator Magazine has failed to solicit a formal confirmation from the Ministry of Agriculture and the Ministry of Finance on the future of the contract with the two Ministries asking us to check with each other.
Further none could definitely say if any funds or finance instruments were used to obtain funds by East Bridge directors.
“None that I know of and I will request you to check with the Ministry of Agriculture officials,” said Dr Macdonal Mafuta Mwale, Secretary to the Treasury when asked on 6th July.
Minister of Agriculture Sam Kawale’s mobile could not be reached and texts to Secretaries of Agriculture Dixie Kampani and Modrina Muloza Banda were not responded to.
Finance Minister Sosten Gwengwe said the Ministry of Agriculture was better placed to speak on the fertilizer deal.
The Investigator Magazine was informed two weeks ago that the Romanian deal was supposed to be canceled or delayed as recommended by the Cabinet Committee on Agriculture but the Ministry has remained mum on the recent developments.
Gwengwe in earlier interviews said the public funds are protected and Malawians should not be worried. Kawale repeated the same despite The Investigator Magazine’s revelations that Romania does not have the promised 600,000 tons.
The deal which saw government issue a USD250 million sovereign guarantee was said to have had a negative effect on the country’s negotiations with the International Monetary Fund in October which has a make-or-break meeting for Malawi to return to the ECF program which President Chakwera’s administration canceled voluntarily after assuming power in 2020.
Since then the government has failed to convince the IMF to resume the program and corruption scandals and guarantees which are likely to raise debt commitment could see Malawi fail again.
How all connected is Mphwiyo’s escape
The Investigator Magazine has been told by Justice officials that the East Gate Estates Srl submitted documentation that included one director with the surname Mphwiyo. Mphwiyo was supposed to have his 2013 Cashgate case ruling by the end of last month.
He disappeared days before the ruling and his known mobile numbers have either been traced to Monkey Bay or to the Democratic Republic of Congo.
Our investigators have strongly suggested that he was within the borders of Malawi and being harbored by a very important person in the country.
He later left Malawi through the Mwanza border and he is said to be in Durban, South Africa, according to one of his associates.
Mphwiyo, Mussa, and Moya were seen together in the Capital whilst negotiations for the Romanian fertilizer deal were being negotiated.
A day before disappearing Mphwiyo checked into Ryalls Hotel in Blantyre for one night, according to the sources, and left in the morning around 6 am.
He boarded Malawian Airlines flight number ET20 from Lilongwe on 22nd June 2023 at 08.10 am.
A copy of the ticket Mphwiyo used to get to Blantyre
The Investigator Magazine can confirm that he was in the company of one of the well-known money changers at Lilongwe Game Complex known as Sally.
He left a sandal and a shirt in the hotel room and boarded a Black Toyota Prado TX which had no number plates.
Some sources allege the vehicle belongs to the cabinet office type of vehicle.
“There was a standby letter of credit at Reserve Bank. Some of the funds might have been paid locally and some outside. It is understood, they made demands for safe passage and they were accorded. If Mphwiyo has left Malawi should be days after he disappeared, he was being kept by someone,” a source told The Investigator.
Sally, according to forex traders around the country had been asking for all dollars, rands, and pounds on the market pointing to the fact Mphwiyo and the group had huge sums of kwacha which was likely paid as part of the deal.
We have names of people in Government that are said to have been close to the deal and we are verifying their link with the scandalous East Bridge Estates deal which the Ministry of Agriculture is still hoping for a miracle.
“The story is they threatened to spill the beans. Their flight out of Malawi was planned. Government should stop pretending and playing with Malawians and come out in the open,” said our original source in the case.
Attorney General Thabo Chakaka Nyirenda was expected to make a final decision after he was named as the one who authorized the deal, breaking all procurement deal which is now being covered by fertilizer bring brought from Turkey.
Another source suggested money was paid through the Capital City branch of the commercial bank in Lilongwe and the bank has yet to respond to our questions sent to its various top officials.
Attorney General holds on to the illegal deal
Chakaka Nyirenda has failed to explain the rationale or powers he gave himself to override procurement rules Chakaka Nyirenda has failed to explain the rationale or powers he gave himself to override procurement rules and is failing to cancel the deal which is already more expensive and is turning into another embarrassing scam for the government, especially with connection to Mphwiyo who is a cashgate suspect.
The AG has been making embarrassing blunders by overriding different institutions that some agencies are using in-house and external legal opinions as they are scared of legal repercussions after the Tonse Alliance and Malawi Congress Party (MCP) lose power.
“Most of us are preparing for life after 2025. The way things are, it will be a great miracle if we will win. Scandal after scandal. We agreed amongst ourselves to ignore the Attorney General and his bizarre advice in contract matters. Following his advice can get one arrested in the future. One wonders why the President is fascinated with this gaffe ladden AG who has no idea about his powers and its limitations” said one of the CEOs in a key government agency.
The Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB) is said to be probing the matter.
Namiwa carrying placard while Agape Khombe group detained
LILONGWE-(MaraviPost)-The Centre for Democracy and Economic Development Initiatives (CDEDI) in collaboration with the Concerned Citizens have suspended the vigils on security grounds.
The grouping has been holding vigils at the main entrance to Capital Hill in the City of Lilongwe, seeking response from the Attorney General Thabo Chakaka Nyirenda regarding the mysterious loss of MK750 million that was meant for the purchase of fertilizer for the vulnerable Malawian farmers under the 2022/2023 Affordable Input Programme (AIP).
Briefing the press in Lilongwe about the suspension, CDEDI Executive Director, Sylvester Namiwa, says the conduct of the police leaves a lot to be desired.
Namiwa says the prevailing events from day one of vigils necessitated the calling off of the peaceful protests saying it is sad that the law enforcers seem to be siding with thugs that are willing to disrupt the constitutionally mandated protesters.
He gave an example of an incident that happened on the very first day of the vigils on Monday, May 22, 2023, whereby the Malawi Police Service (MPS) arrested 23 people that plotted to attack the protesters and disrupt the vigils, only to hear that were released unconditionally.
“The same police acted very strange on Wednesday, May 24, 2023 around 11am, when they withdrew their manpower from the vigil premises,” says Namiwa.
He added that the withdrawal of security, coupled with other strange events that prompted CDEDI leadership to raise an alarm.
“Considering that by any measure, security issues are urgent and serious matters in nature, our reaction included an immediate telephone call to the Lilongwe District Commissioner Dr. Lawford Palani, bringing to his attention the state of security at the vigil premises but to our dismay, the situation remained the same on Thursday May 25, 2023 a development that forced CDEDI and the Concerned Citizens to lodge a formal complaint with the DC, and the Inspector General of the Malawi Police Service,” he said.
According to Namiwa, silence from the authorities warrants suspension of vigils until the Inspector General (IG) Merlyn Yolamu explains the sudden withdrawal of manpower amid security threats.
He says it is worrisome that despite all the efforts, there was no response from the DC by close of business on Thursday, a development that has left CDEDI and the Concerned Citizens with no choice but to suspend the vigils on security grounds.
On the way forward, Namiwa has assured Malawians that CDEDI will do all it can in order to force the Attorney General to show the nation proof of payment as evidence that the MK750 million was recovered and the culprits arrested or else he should resign.
He says, as it stands, the conduct by the overzealous, is a clear manifestation that the Malawi Congress Party (MCP) has strong detest of democracy that brings along with it rights and freedoms including the right to assemble and conduct peaceful demonstrations.
“By extension, it is now very clear that President Lazarus Chakwera intends to run a government that is not transparent and accountable to the people that double as voters and taxpayers,”.
The CDEDI Chief has since asked Police IG Yolamu to explain unconditional release of people that were arrested on Monday on suspicion that they were planning to disrupt the vigils.
Information has it that the suspects were released unconditionally upon arrival at Lingadzi police.
LILONGWE-(MaraviPost)-Techno Brain is now smiling following President Lazarus Chakwera’s Tonse Alliance government to refund MK24 billion for contract breaching.
Attorney General (AG) Thabo Chakaka Nyirenda says government has agreed to refund passport booklets supplier Techno Brain Globalin respect of services rendered, and cost of breaching the contract.
Meanwhile, he said government will meet Techno Brain’s outstanding balance from revenue to be generated from passport sales.
Passport production was recently halted The Tonse Alliance administration terminated the contract in October last year, citing anomalies.
The contract was signed with the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) in 2019.
According to minutes we have seen of the three e-Passport negotiation high level meetings between Techo Brain Global and Malawi Government, held on June 10, July 21 and October 12 2022 at Ministry of Finance conference room, the company demanded Malawi to pay about US$28.5 million (about MK29.1 billion) as settlement and contract termination fees.
Out of the amount, US$22 533 333.33 (about MK23 billion) is the settlement amount, while US$6 million (about MK6.1 billion) is contract termination fees.
The July 21 meeting agreed that US$2.5million (about MK2.5 billion) be deducted from the settlement sum, as it was already paid on March 8, 2022 under the first interim agreement.
But minutes for the October 12 2022 meeting, attended by officials from ministries of Finance and Homeland Security Department of Immigration and Citizenship Services and as well as six Techno Brain Global representatives, indicates that Nyirenda informed the meeting that the outstanding amount was US$24 million (about MK24.4 billion).
Reads the minutes in part: “The AG explained that the hand over process under the settlement agreement is a very important issue and there has been no clear agreement on what to do with the source code, and that a handover is considered meaningless without having control of the source code.”
But Nyirenda could not disclose whether the parties signed the settlement agreement October 21 2022 as agreed as agreed.
“The contents of the negotiations were supposed to remain confidential. Suffice to say that the final settlement amount is not U$24 million.
“As said before, government stands to gain over MK36 billion and save over US$26 million. Payment will have to come from sales of passports which have accumulated over time,” said Nyirenda.
Meanwhile, Techno Brain Global insists that it did not flout any process to win the e-Passport contract, saying it submitted a bid in response to an international bidding process following stringent and compliance procedures.
“In a written response a fortnight ago, Anjarwalla & Khanna LLP Director Luisa Cetina, whose law firm is representing Techno Brain Global on the matter, said prior to entering into the settlement, the Government, including a parliamentary committee, investigated the manner in which the 2019 contract was awarded and that there was no flouting of any regulation.
“We note that the e-Passport agreement between the Government and Techno Brain was terminated before the agreement ran its course and; therefore, there are obligations on both sides that have been affected as a result,” said Cetina, who has been part of Techno Brain Global negotiation team.
At the time of terminating the US$60 million (about MK61.8 billion) passport deal last October, Nyirenda said the decision was based on a contractual clause of convenience and public interest which allowed him to discontinue the contract at no cost.
In January this year, Techno Brain issued a statement asking for a continuation/resumption of the terminated contract, arguing that the proposal was a win-win situation for Malawi as the firm had laid an important foundation for the passport system in Malawi, including training of staff.
The deal also involved the introduction of an electronic passport under the build, operate and transfer model by providing 800, 000 electronic passports under procurement reference number IM/01/272/07.
Details emerged that for every passport booklet issued by the Department of Immigration and Citizenship Services, Malawians were getting a raw deal as government made a profit of between MK30 000 and MK117 000, largely due to overpricing
LILONGWE-(MaraviPost)-Public Appointments Committee (PAC) of Parliament has officially written Speaker of the National Assembly, Catherine Gotani Hara on embattled Secretary to President and Cabinet (SPC) Colleen Zamba along side with National Oil Company of Malawi (NOCMA) board’s failure to appear before the committee following its summon.
PAC Chairperson, Joyce Chitsulo told The Maravi Post that her committee wrote the Speaker on Friday, November 25, 2022 on Zamba’s sabotage.
Chitsulo however quoted Parliamentary Standing Order 163 {3} which requires the matter to be reported to the Speaker’s office where there is suspected contempt of parliament.
Hara is yet to confirm if she has received PAC’s communication on the matter.
The Committee wanted the board to explain its side after NOCMA’s former acting Chief Executive Officer; Hellen Buluma alleged Zamba was forcing her to award fuel supply contracts to certain companies without following procurement procedures.
Buy Attorney General (AG) Thabo Chakaka Nyirenda had advised the board the board to ignore the PAC’s summon; arguing it does not have such a mandate.
However, Malawi Law Society (MLS) disagreed with Nyirenda arguing that Standing Order 157 (a) of Parliament empowers PAC to scrutinize, consider and enquire into the competence of public appointees under the Constitution and report to the Assembly including AG himself.
The Section 60 (3) of the Malawi Constitution says, “the National Assembly and any committee of the National Assembly shall have the power to conduct investigations and exercise the power to subpoena the attendance of any person or office holder whosoever as required in connection with the prudent exercise of the functions of the National Assembly and failure to attend without leave or without valid reason or excuse shall be held to be a contempt of the National Assembly or committee in question.”
This week Buluma dressed down Zamba’s corruption tendencies just a few months as NOCMA board chairperson.
BLANTYRE-(MaraviPost)-The Centre for Democracy and Economic Development Initiatives (CDEDI) has penned Attorney General (AG) Thabo Chakaka Nyirenda to side with Malawians by facilitating cancellation of dubious claims by former presidential aide Pastor Martin Thom.
The Cleric is demanding a whopping K1.6 billion from tax payers’ money having illegally arrested in August 2021.
But in its findings, based on the letter in our possession, addressed to the country’s Attorney General and signed by CDEDI Executive Director Sylvester Namiwa, the organisation says Pastor Thom was never arrested but only summoned for questioning and that the interrogation never lasted for an hour.
“It is in the same vein that CDEDI, on behalf of Malawians, writes your good office to protect the public funds by challenging the claim itself first, and not only the amount,” says Namiwa.
He has also reminded the Attorney General about previous engagements CDEDI held with the former police Chief George Kainja which established that Pastor Thom neither had a police bail nor court bail.
“Therefore it is an insult to the intelligence of Malawians to compensate someone who was only called for questioning and driven home an hour or so later. By the way, how many people are called for questioning by the Malawi Police Services on daily basis? Is it feasible that all those called for summoning should be compensated,” queries Namiwa.
He said cancellation of the absurd claims by Pastor Thom would do much good to the reputation of the Attorney General and much to the general public at large.
Nyirenda has since been advised to take a deep reflection and some soul searching before acting on this matter.
In its previous letter dated August 9, 2021 addressed to Dr. George Kainja the then Inspector General under the headline REQUEST FOR CLARITY ON PASTOR MARTIN THOM’S BAIL CONDITIONS it transpired during an interface between CDEDI and Dr. Kainja in response to our letter held at the police headquarters at Area 30 in Lilongwe, that Pastor Thom neither had a police bail nor court bail.
Namiwa has also warned Nyirenda for giving an impression through media interview that he is in support of Pastor Thom’s dubious claims.
“To many of us, your response in the said article meant that Pastor Martin Thom will be compensated, but from where we are standing we strongly challenge this arrangement as it smacks daylight robbery and an outright abuse of public funds,” he said.
Meanwhile Lawyer for the Pastor, Silvester Ayuba James has confirmed that the compensation claim has already been presented to the courts for assessment.
Other than CDEDI, the compensation claim has received public backlash.
BLANTYRE-(MaraviPost)-The country’s Attorney General (AG) Thabo Chakaka Nyirenda has acknowledged receipt of an investigative report from the Higher Education Students’ Loans and Grants Board ( HESLGB) which claims that K1.1 billion was looted through ghost beneficiaries from unaccredited higher learning institutions between 2017 and 2020.
Nyirenda confirmed of having received the investigative report on the matter on Monday October 17,2022 adding that his office is currently working on recovering the said amount from those that benefited from the arrangement.
The AG further disclosed he has directed the office of Director of Public Prosecution(DPP) to begin legal action against those allegedly involved.
HESLGB Board Chair, Henry Chingaipe also confirmed of submitting the investigative report documents to the Attorney General and Office of President and Cabinet (OPC).
” Yes, after our investigation on the matter, we released a report which we sent to OPC and the AG’s office, ” said Chingaipe.
It is alleged that, between 2019 and 2020, the loans board gave out K1.3 billion in student loans and out of this K1.1 billion was disbursed dubiously, with K590 million to students at Millennium university which is not accredited by Malawi’s National Council for Higher Education.
This was against the rules as Section 24(a) of the HESLGB Act of 2015 which directs that students registered at an unaccredited university are not eligible for loans from the board.
Apart from giving out the loans illegally, the loans board also allegedly inflated the fees as it gave out K890,000 per student per semester at the same higher learning institution.
……Chintin and Malawian Edward Wilson were caught stealing burnt bricks
LILONGWE-(MaraviPost)-Two people were on Sunday, April 3, 2022 arrested for invading the Attorney General (AG) Thabo Chakaka Nyirenda’s house in Lilongwe’s Area 47 where they were reportedly caught stealing burnt bricks.
Bhat Chintin was picked by police for trespassing
Maravi Post has identified the two as Bhat Chintin, who is an Indian by origin, and another Malawian, Edward Wilson, who works as a casual labourer for Chintin.
Speaking to the publication, a bystander who identified himself as Stanord Mtandaza ,and witnessed the arrest of the two, narrated yesterday that it was around 2 pm last Sunday when he saw Wilson suspiciously peeping through the rare gate of AG’s house.
Later, Wilson was seen collecting bricks in a sack from Chakaka Nyirenda’s yard without any consent.
The bricks lay idle outside the back fence of AG’s house awaiting to be used for some construction works by Chakaka Nyirenda.
Mtandaza said at that particular moment, Wilson was later seen offloading the collected bricks in a black saloon vehicle which was parked nearby and was being driven by Chintin.
His misdeed was quickly curtailed when upon being tipped, AG Nyirenda and his security team arrived on the scene and picked the suspects to Lilongwe Police Station for questioning.
In an interview with Malavi Post, Niyrenda confirmed the incident, describing it as unfortunate.
“Yes, I am aware about this incident and it happened last Sunday. I don’t know really what these two gentlemen were up to at my house apart from stealing my belongings right within my compound.This is my private security issue,” he said.
The AG also confirmed that he did not hesitate but picked the two, aided by his security detail as well as driver, before handing them over to police.
When contacted, Lilongwe Police spokesperson Hastings Chigalu also confirmed about the case but said he was not ready to share more information about the incident.
Chigalu disclosed that the public will provided with the nitty-gritty of the matter and charges leveled against the two invaders at the he was contacted.
“For sure we have such case but more details and its progress will be ready with me this [yesterday’s] afternoon,” said Chigalu.
However, Chigalu had not furnished the publication with the promised details as we went to press.
However, The Maravi Post understand that the duo are out police custody with yet charges to be known.
President Lazarus Chakwera appointed Chakaka Nyirenda as Malawi Chief Legal Advisor on August 27, 2021 replacing Chikosa Silungwe who was fired on July 21 the same year.
Currently, among other high profile court battles, Chakaka Nyirenda is at the helm of challenging claims in excess of MK2 trillion from private firms, contractors and companies emanating from legal compliance anomalies in previous government contracts.
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