Activists demand answers from businessman Chaudhry over vanished K1.4 billion rural electricity funds
Human rights campaigners are demanding controversial businessman Mahmood Azhar Chaudhry be made to account for his role in a staggering K1.4 billion scandal involving materials meant to bring electricity to Malawi’s remotest communities, after explosive court documents revealed his links to one of the companies at the centre of the fraud.
Three companies contracted to supply materials under the Malawi Rural Electrification Programme (MAREP) Phase 9 received hefty upfront payments back in 2022 — only to spectacularly fail to deliver, leaving taxpayers billions of kwacha out of pocket and rural communities still waiting on promised electrification.
Chaudhry’s own sworn statement links him to the scandal
Attorney General Frank Mbeta, who is pursuing recovery of the funds through civil litigation while simultaneously reporting the firms to the Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB), has zeroed in on Kumakoka Trading Limited, one of the three implicated companies, which pocketed over K523 million upfront despite failing to deliver.
While the firm’s owner is officially listed as Grant Kaseko, sources suspect he is merely a front for Chaudhry — suspicions given significant weight after Chaudhry himself confessed in a sworn statement before the High Court Commercial Division in Blantyre that he had dealings with Kumakoka Trading regarding financing of the MAREP contract.
“This was pure fraud” — activist demands ACB probe
Human rights activist Joel Chiwere didn’t mince his words, insisting the sworn court confession leaves little room for doubt. “This was pure fraud. Everyone who played a role must be taken to book. If there is that confession on record in court that he had dealings with one of the companies in relation to this contract, he is aware of what he was doing and what went on,” Chiwere said.
Governance expert Brighton Njala echoed the call for accountability, stressing that authorities have a duty to protect taxpayers’ money by prosecuting anyone who misuses public funds meant to uplift lives in Malawi’s most remote areas.
K800 MILLION property dispute exposes deeper web
In a dramatic twist, separate court papers filed on 1 July 2026 reveal Chaudhry was simultaneously fighting to stop individuals from seizing his Blantyre home, after claiming he had entered into a 2022 oral agreement to pre-finance electrical cables for the very same Kumakoka Trading MAREP contract — an arrangement he says involved an K800 million loan secured against his property, which he claims was never actually advanced to him.
MRA tariff scheme allegedly exploited, goods “sold on private market”
Investigations have also uncovered how the Malawi Revenue Authority (MRA) granted Kumakoka Trading special tariffs to clear the MAREP materials, on the understanding they were destined for government use.
Instead, sources allege the materials were diverted and sold on the open market by Kaseko, allegedly with Chaudhry’s support — raising fresh questions over whether MRA is now owed unpaid duty on the diverted goods.
Chaudhry accused of misleading police over ownership of cables
Adding another disturbing layer to the scandal, investigations reveal Chaudhry and Kaseko later clashed over the diverted cables, resulting in Kaseko’s arrest by Fiscal Police in Lilongwe — he remains out on bail.
Chaudhry, meanwhile, is reported to have given police a false statement claiming the cables belonged to him personally, despite knowing full well they were MAREP property, and despite being aware Kaseko had already received an advance payment from the Ministry of Energy.
Kaseko is further alleged to have produced a fake document for police, complete with a forged police stamp, purporting to arrange repayment or return of the cables.
Government pursuing recovery of full K1.4 BILLION
The Ministry of Energy, through the Attorney General’s Chambers, has since launched legal action against all three implicated firms — Africa Green Economy, Kumakoka Trading Company, and Loui Holdings Group — seeking to recover the full sums paid out, together with interest, damages and costs.
Court documents show Africa Green Economy received K698,050,991, Kumakoka Trading pocketed K523,538,243.57, while Loui Holdings Group is yet to supply cables worth K144,674,756.91.
“So we will recover all the money. Where necessary we will also prosecute the perpetrators for abusing public funds,” the Attorney General said.
Fiscal Police are understood to have been investigating the matters surrounding Kumakoka Trading and Chaudhry since February, as pressure mounts on authorities to bring those responsible for the diverted rural electrification funds to justice.
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