Joyce Banda speaks to Aljazeera: ‘I intend to return to Malawi, there is no warrant of arrest for me’
Malawi’s immediate-past president Joyce Banda has told Aljazeera that she intends to return home and dismissed that a warrant of arrest was issued by Malawi Police in connection with the country’s “Cashgate” corruption scandal, which involved large-scale looting of government coffers.
Banda has been living abroad since she lost to President Peter Mutharika in the 2014 election. She has been living in the United States, serving as a distinguished fellow at Woodrow Wilson Center and the Center for Global Development in Washington, DC.
Malawi Police Service (MPS)sclaimed they have secured a warrant of arrest from the court for Banda in relation to her alleged involvement in cashgate.
National police spokesman James Kadadzera said Banda suspected of “abusing her office” in the Cashgate scandal.
But appearing in an episode of Al Jazeera’s current affairs programme, UpFront, Banda the former president denies the allegations, she accuses the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) administration of persecuting her.
“I intend to return to Malawi…” she said.
Asked about the warrant of arrest which Police claimed it was issued against her, Banda said she was not provided with a copy of the warrant and the information about the court that issued it .
“There was no warrant of arrest that was issued by Malawi Police,” said Banda.
“Up until now, there is no warrant of arrest. It was a press statement [that they would issue a warrant of arrest],” she said
“Up until now no warrant of arrest has been issued,” she stressed in Al Jazeera television interview.
Quizzed on her role to Cashgate, Banda said after learning about the financial malfeasance, she asked British government to help with forensic audit to clean the system of the looting which has been there before she came to power.
And through RSM (formerly Baker Tilly) the audit was conducted and exposed the large picture of Cashgate.
“How many presidents in Africa would conduct forensic audit of their government,” said Banda patting herself on the back for taking a bold move.
“I am the only president who got to the bottom of corruption and instituted the first-ever commission of inquiry into corruption,” she added.
Asked that some Cashgate convicts have mentioned her name in the scandal, Banda said the people were pressured to soil her name.
“I have evidence people were approached to implicate me [in cashgate],” Banda told Aljazeera.
“I don’t have to clear my name, because Malawians know what I did and my concisous is very clear,” she stressed.
Cashgate is the biggest financial scandal in Malawi’s history and helped push Banda out of power in 2014.
That came after she ordered an audit the previous year which discovered that $30 million had been looted by officials in less than six months in 2013.
Dozens of civil servants, business people and politicians have since been implicated in the scam, and some have been jailed.
International donors pulled the plug on aid of around $150 million over the scandal.
Follow and Subscribe Nyasa TV :
Just to remind everyone that she does receive Malawi government benefits including health care while she is self imposed exile, her sister and nephew plus a good contigent of her staff are on Malawi government pay role for doing nothing, lets not lose site of that
Aljazeera please next time focus on the plight of Malawians who are suffering because of the money the she stole, thanks
So why is she on the run then ? You mean she is running away from a statement???? and Cherry Blair is defending her from a “statement”
Nde mwati mukubwera? Chibwanatu chimenecho!!!! Cashgate inu simungamangidwe nayo, koma wa ka ndenge kaja nanga? Bakhalani ngati mwayi ulipo Masteni, anthu ake siawawa. Awa ndizithumwa……..ngati anathyola nthiti Bingu wakufa? Bassop!!!!
Joice Joice Joice, when shall you stop licking the white man’s ass? And to you Americans, and Britons, why keep the thief in your house? Or are you perhaps birds of the same feather?
Yawn…
Joyce Banda’s relevance waned when she bolted and did nothing to defend allegations against her. I personally think she does not matter anymore unless she redeems herself by clearing the allegations against her (which if there is nothing to hide, she should have done long time ago). Next issue relevance please…
You had a chance of really changing things. Why did you choose to instead loot. I don’t understand how you don’t see your role in the mess Malawi is in. You had seemingly good intentions, but the path to hell is paved with good intentions.
Joyce Banda is the biggest opportunist that ever lived, she has conned the Americans and the Blairs in UK, she will milk them empty before she decideds to come back, she does no mean what she says
A pathological thief this woman is for sure. A pathological liat too. A sociopathic plunderer. A kleptomaniacal rascal. A jezebellacious blood sucker.
Same old same old news, she has said that many times before, we are sick and tired of hearing about this woman. Aljazeera should interview Peter Mutharika about blackouts and relevant issues affecting poor Malawians. who cares about JB who is in self exile, she does not care about the plight of Malawians, she is busy liking the white man’s ass while we are suffering here back home