Malawi ex-president corruption case dropped

By Moses Micheal Phiri

BLANTYRE, Malawi (AA) - Malawi’s highest court in Blantyre has freed former president Bakili Muluzi after the government on Monday dropped all corruption related charges.

The court's decision follows a notice of discontinuance of the case from the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) Masauko Chamkakala.

In a statement, Minister of Information, Moses Kunkuyu, who is also the official government, said Chamkakala has been reviewing the Muluzi case to ascertain its prosecutability in the interest of justice and in pursuit of government's uncompromising commitment to the rule of law

“The outcome of this review is now that the DPP has determined that the case be discontinued forthwith and all charges against the former president be dropped,” Kunkuyu said.

The development, Kunkuyu said “means that Muluzi, aged 80, who was arrested in 2009 and made to stand trial for 14 years under three previous administrations, during which billions of taxpayer funds were spent on a case that was inconclusive, is now a free man.”

Chamkakala said he will submit a report on the case to parliament next month.

“One the reasons for the discontinuation of the case, I will submit a report to Parliament through the Legal Affairs Committee in June,” Chamkakala told Anadolu Agency.

The former president was first arrested in 2006 and again in 2009, on charges of stealing millions of dollars in donor funding, and many hailed his arrest as a bold move towards fighting graft in a country that’s been held back by corruption.

It has been alleged he diverted donor money from countries like China, Libya, Morocco and others into his personal account.

But after the collapse of Muluzi’s, legal expert Professor Danwood Chirwa said the discontinuance exposes the mockery of the Malawian anti-corruption effort.

“This also represents the lowest watermark for the Anti-Corruption Bureau in terms of its record of prosecutions and convictions,” said Chirwa.

Muluzi, who ruled Malawi from 1994 to 2004, was accused of abuse of public funds amounting to $12 million.

He has however always denied wrongdoing, saying no foreign country would deposit donor money in a personal account.

Muluzi claims the case was trumped up for political reasons.