Malawi President Chakwera Suspends Vice President Chilima over corruption
Malawian President Lazarus Chakwera has fired his head of police and announced that he has stopped delegating duties to Vice President Saulos Chilima on allegations of receiving money from business man Zuneth Sattar.
Chakwera announced his decision after receiving a report from the Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB) on investigations into businesman Zuneth Sattar who is accused of giving bribes worth $150m (£123m) to public officers in exchange for securing government contracts.
Chakwera said a total of 53 current and former public officers received money from Sattar between March 2021 and October 2021. There are also 31 individuals from the private sector, media and civil society who allegedly received money from Sattar.
Chakwera said the officers include those from Office of the President and Cabinet, Malawi Police Service, Office of the Vice President, State House, Reserve Bank of Malawi, ACB, Malawi Broadcasting Station and various ministries.
The president added that the bureau has found that among the 84 individuals accused of receiving money from Sattar, there are 13 who have been extensively investigated such that the bureau has concluded that they “conducted themselves corruptly.”
Speaking on the action that he is taking, Chakwera noted that the constitution does not provide for the suspension of the Vice President or his removal from office by the president.
“As such, the best I can do for now, which is what I have decided to do, is to withhold from his office any delegated duties while waiting for the Bureau to substantiate its allegations against him and to make known its course of action in relation to such,” said Chakwera.
Story by Tinyefuza Naboth
