ACB officials receive death threats over Malawi cashgate crackdown
Malawi’s graft-busting body deputy director and prosecutor Reyneck Matemba has said he is a victim of death threats related to the cashgate crackdown, saying other two officials are also living dangerously.
The other two officials receiving death threats are Kondwani Zulu and Vilera Liwonde who are Anti Corruption Bureau (ACB) investigators.
“Yes I have been receiving menacing phone calls,” Matemba told Nyasa Times.
He said anonymous callers have told him to “take care of himself”.
Matemba said the death threats are related to the arrests the bureau has been making over cashgate scandal.
He said Zulu and Liwonde have also received calls telling them to stop hunting officials linked to alleged cases of corruption.
Matemba said that while he does not know where the threats have come from, he can state that there are some very powerful people who are linked to cashgate corruption scandal.
It is believed that their work on cashgate could be the cause of the threats.
Cashgate is the biggest financial scandal in Malawi’s history. It has affected the country’s relations with donors and caused outrage among Malawians.
Lilongwe Magistrate court last week sentenced a former junior civil servant accounts assistant Victor Sithole to nine years in jail with hard labour as his arrest in August 2013 kick-started what became known as the “cashgate” affair.
It became public knowledge a month later following the shooting of the finance ministry’s then budget director Paul Mphwiyo in September 2013.
The first person to be convicted in relation to the high-profile case was former Principal Secretary in the Ministry of Tourism, Tressa Namathanga Senzani, who was sentenced to three years in jail last month.
Meanwhile, human rights activists have condemned acts of intimidation against ACB official and calls on the authorities to investigate their origin to punish those found responsible.
Follow and Subscribe Nyasa TV :
haha ACB what threats you dumb investigators? have you reported to the Police? why not use your investigative skills to identify these anonymous callers on your phone? havent you heard of the spy machine at MACRA? these are offences punishaable by the Penal Code shut your mouth and investigate these idiots who are threatening you dont warn them through the media work behind the scènes to arrest them. you cant fight corruption with rubber mouths
Mphwiyo anali kapena akanali nacho chitetezo cha polisi. Nanga ACB which is doing a good job how?
Kukondera bwanji kodi?
kuuzimba timakomana ndi zambiri osatopa aonekere ng’amba anayamba kale amenewo
You are taking too long arresting cash gate people thats why they want to threaten you.Everybody knows they have stolen tax payers money and you have arrested two or three people why.Chanzeru palibe apa tizingovutikabe. Mankhwala muzipatala mulibe, Katundu kukwera mitengo, Malipiro ovutikira. Zonsezi chifukwa anthu adaba ndalama zathu inuyo mukuwasiya dala ndiye asakuopsezeni.
Akunama ma member keep on until you finalize everything. Mbavazi zithe mmbomamu
That’s what happens when you choose who arrest and who let loose.
ACB has reached a clueless stage whereby after the Baker Tirlley Report, they have difficulties to proceed due to pre-judicum of the would-be -suspects that are not appearing in the report. That is the problem of over trumped up investigations! When you reach a dead end you have a million executes!
Is it USD 20 million or USD 20 billion that was stolen. Am a Nigerian doing business here i believe that let the police deal with this and the rest of the country pse pse move on fevelop Malawi. Every country including UK experiences theft of govt money but please make more money dont dwell too much on this it can consume much of your time.
Onyema you must be a thief! Stop commenting on issues so serious like these. After all you are the ones who brought corrupt practices to our country. Malawi was a corrupt free society before doors were opened to Nigerian economic immigants like you.
Ulesi ndi minyama, you are entitled to your opinion. However, you comment is very harsh concerning Onyema. There is sense in what he says but you may not support it fully. Let’s learn to live peaceably with all people of all Nationalities because there are many Malawians in the Diaspora.
I think Onyema is right… Cashgate has indeed happened and has affected the masses of us. The authorities are working on it to catch the thieves, but meanwhile, all the country has stopped everything and are busy only watching and criticising the cashgate game. Malawi lets wake up and see way forward with recession problems. If we observe our market cleary, the money masters (amwenye, lebanese, chinese, nigerians and azungu) have already changed games. They have taken advantage of cashgate and recession and will still be cashing in, while We are busy at cashgate stadium watching the game. Wake up… Read more »
Typical dpp, intimidating msungama and now ACB staff!! The nooze is really tightening around dpp necks. We told you Peter that some of your top officials are thieves and money launderers, all linked to your dpp thieving over years!!! Now you are threatening people’s lives who are just doing their job which you promised will have no govt interference. And then you expect donors to resume budgetary support with thugs running around threatening officials? Now you guys from ACB are safe because you have come out and exposed the death threats which the whole world now knows. Just complete your… Read more »
borrow from Italian police on Mafia. They swoop suspects all at cordinated time. You invite danger with your selective arrests. Ive no sympathy.