LILONGWE, (MaraviPost): Some Malawi publications are reporting that Malawi’s Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB) is looking into the Finances of former president, the late Bingu WA Mutharika.
Our inquiries to Egrita Ndala by email as we went to press remained an answered. We raised two questions about the velocity of the reporting and also If it is standard practice of the ACB to reveal ongoing investigations and to what purpose?
The reporting suggested that the investigation would be limited to Mutharika’s children, namely his son Madalitso, and daughters, Duwa and Tapiwa.
The same reporting which we have yet to confirm with the ACB stated that President Peter Mutharika will not be investigated, because he has presidential immunity from investigations and prosecution. A fact that is already known to those familiar with the Malawi constitution.
Bingu WA Mutharika’s wealth was investigated after his death when the Cashgate scandal came to light and the Joyce Banda administration used it as a ruse to deflect attention from its own misdeeds.
Those that wanted to distract Malawians from cashgate claimed that the late President had accumulated K61 billion during his time in government. They claimed that this money was taken from public funds an accusation that those close to the late President have denied to many deaf ears.
Late Bingu WA Mutharika died in April 2012 after he suffered a heart attack at age 78 while he was still in power. Before becoming a two term President, Bingu WA Mutharika served in the Malawi civil service. He served as an administrative officer in the Government of Malawi and also in Zambia. He was offered the Deputy Governorship of the reserve Bank of Malawi and appointed Minister of Economic Planning and Development in 2002.
He also worked at the World Bank as a Loans Officer and at the United Nations Economic Commission of Africa, as Director of Trade and Development Finance and as Secretary General of the Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa COMESA, covering 22 Member States.