Malawi Police nab two gov’t officers for embezzling K19m
Fiscal police have apprehended two more government officers stationed at Dowa District Council for being suspected of embezzling about K19 million.
The money, meant for the Local Development Fund (LDF), went missing early this year after a whistle-blower at the council tipped the Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB) about the disappearance of the funds.
The suspects are Eness Mkandawire and Ambele Luwisa who were arrested Friday afternoon and are still in police custody, according to police.
According to ploice, the two officers were implicated in an audit report instated by the National Local Government Finance Committee (NLGFC) following reports of financial irregularities of the funds.
At the time of the audit, the team discovered that the officers charged with the responsibility of managing LDF funds could not account for the funds.
Earlier, police arrested another suspect, Hartley Nyamasaka, who, after police search at his house, was found with K227 000 which he could not explain its origin.
The suspect was subsequently taken to court and is currently on court bail.
A letter by a whistle-blower to ACB director and copied to heads of LDF and the Public Accounts Committee of Parliament among others, alleged that some senior officials at the Ministry of Local Government were preventing the course of justice to take place on the suspects.
The letter claimed after NLGFC directed Dowa District Commissioner to report the suspects to police as per requirement, an unnamed senior official from the Ministry of Local Government in Lilongwe issued another directive stopping the DC from reporting the matter to police saying the issue would be handled administratively.
NLGFC Executive Secretary, Wezi Mjojo, who initiated the audit, said her office only conducted the audit but the rest remained with the police to do their job.
