ACB says Joyce Banda not cleared of Cashgate: Malawi ex-president still under corruption investigations
The Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB) says it has not cleared former president Joyce Banda on corruption allegations in the biggest financial scandal in the country’s history called Cashgate, dismissing her claims that the graft-busting body said it had no solid evidence against the former president, partially clearing her name.
The “Cashgate” scandal prompted foreign donors – who provide around 40 percent of Malawi’s budget – to pull the plug on aid worth around $150 million.
The scandal helped push Banda out of power in the 2014 election, and President Peter Mutharika vowed to clean up the system to bring donors back.
ACB director Reyneck Matemba wondered where Banda is getting the information of her being cleared from.
“We never said we have cleared the former president (Joyce Banda),” said Matemba.
The ACB only cleared five firms of wrongdoing in the now K236 billion Cashgate suspected to have occurred between 2009 and 2014.
Matemba said the ACB is still investigating Banda following claims by Cashgate convict Oswald Lutepo on her role in Cashgate and on payments worth $4.5 million (about K3.5 billion) Mudzi Transformation Trust received from oil exploring companies on the same day that the Malawi Government issued licenses in 2013.
Mudzi Transformation Trust was a five-year project launched in 2013 to build houses for vulnerable people. It targeted 20 000 villages nationwide, but just over 500 houses were built at the end of former president Joyce Banda’s term in 2014.
Lutepo confessed that while he had indeed swindled the state, he’d also personally delivered cash to Banda during her term as president.
He said Banda was the mastermind behind the fraud.
“They [the alleged masterminds] used my account as a conduit. I have been to State House several times to deliver the money. If there are CCTVs (closed camera circuits), they will prove me,” said Lutepo.
The former president said she had evidence that corruption allegations against her were politically motivated with written confessions by suspects in the Cashgate scandal, which state that agents have been pressurising them to implicate her in the scandal.
Banda , 68, flew home on Saturday after four years of self-imposed exile during which she faced the threat of arrest over corruption allegations.
Police spokesman James Kaledzera last week declined to say if Banda would be arrested, though he confirmed that a warrant issued last July remained valid.
But the second woman to lead an African country and the first woman president in Malawi, Banda assured her party faithful that she played no role in Cashgate during her two-year tenure as Presilent from 2012 to 2014. “I am not afraid,” she said defiantly. “If they want they can come and arrest me because I have not done any wrong.”
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UDF, DPP and PP are parties of thieves. There is no question about this. How come COs with a salary of K60,000 a month own cars and houses. If you want to see what Malawians have lost in taxes just go to areas 43, 44, 12, 11, 49 and 25 and see what people are building from meagre salaries. It is all theft. It is more of thefe than corruption in Malawi.
Hatton the purpose is to assess whether you can borrow further ,you are not a Risk.So it has been determined that we can continue borrowing. Celebrate my friend. My worry is that when Money is squandered no one is held accountable. Take the 577billion kuli ziii.Bola Amayi anamangapo anthu 30billion IJA.
Bwana nalingula, please note that Extended Credit Facility(ECF) is not the same as DEBT RELIEF. ECF is more less like an endorsement that the country’s credit rating has improved on account of sound microeconomic environment. What you referred to as kukhululukidwa ngongole, I believe that is debt relief.
I now understand why government is always being criticized. Largely it is because the majority of the critics do not understand the subject matter.
Would claimants of “good technical knowhows” of improved microeconomic environments explain to the ignorants what that translates into real life situation of a common man. People do not eat figures or false hopes/ explanations. Goodall has been making such claims over the past 15 yrs but with NOTHING to SHOW for! If anything if one is to check the same IMF/ World Bank poverty indicators, we are at the bottom of list even in this SADC sub-region. Unfortunately DPP thieves ALL they are good at is self-grandiosity and bragging.. We are “top notch”, US trained, blah! blah! But results on… Read more »
AHatton ECF sindiye kuti tatonkhululukidwa NGOngole.Ndie kuti tithakumangongolabe.Paja ngongole yathu yatofika 1.2trillion.Funso kodi makobiliwa tikangongola akunka kwayi.Poti mayiko anali mbuyo mwathu atotipitirira,Rwanda,Mozambique, Tanzania?
Angasangalale ndi omwe amasolola makobiliwo tikangongola.
Is Matemba really fit to be ACB Director? JB has been outside the country for close to 4 years and you want to tell the nation that you are still investigating her? Someone who was born 4 years ago is at nursery school and able to say a few words in English and yet your investigation are still continuing. If the country is not careful it will end up paying JB billions of kwachas in compensations because of these useless ACB and police investigators. When is the police going to effect the warrant which was obtained last year? Mr Kadadzera… Read more »
Kodi paja Gadafi anatisiya????
A matemba mupwetekeka ndi u young democrat wanuwu…………………….. izi mwanena izi mwanena ………………. wanso nde ayitu……………………….. kenako timvanso kuti the 7 ministers who are alleged to have a hand in K256 billion were not cleared………………………………..
JB kuthatu uku. These guys will finish you. Remember you were also implicated by kasambara and wanted you to wittiness. We told you not to come. If you want peace just join pp.or Afford. JB ex people expect development a disease of non stopping minsturation . If I were you I should have just kept quiet. What is you husband thinking,? he.will die quickly that innocent man. Abale komanso makwatila kwatiwa athuwa Achinwene che Richard Banda. JB nkhope ngati Mike Tyson
may God forgive you Sir
where is that good report about IMF approving ECF for Malawi. Kuterokotu enanu zikukunyansani. Simunati, chaka chino Mumva mbebe. Comparison of performance as at May 2014 against May 2018: Inflation was at 28% in 2014 and it is 8% in 2018. Ex Rate MK:USD was MK 850 in 2014 and is K735. Decent houses for the poor were at 0 in 2014 and is at 7,000 in 2018. Hunger related deaths were at 200 in 2014 and now in 2018 are at 0. IMF ECF was at 0 in 2014 and it is at K102 billion in 2018. No sane… Read more »
If a warrant of arrest was issued why are the investigations still going on? I thought a warrant of arrest can only be issued once the investigation has concluded! I thought the police and ACB are in sync.
Akuti its political. ACB has been politicising fraud cases since it was enacted. Its really a waste
If she is still under investigation as President during ‘cashgate’, what of the previous president and ministers?
Cashgate didn’t start with Joyce Banda or even Bingu, it has been ongoing since multi-party and probably before that.
This sort of playing politics with the ACB doesn’t help. Let them be politically neutral and investigate everyone responsible.
Absolutely. In fact start locking up all the living presidents (Muluzi, Bingu, Joyce and Peter). They all presided over very corrupt governments. As Accountable Officers/Presidents they need to face the music for compromising their fiduciary duties and that’s a serious crime. PSs should also face similar fate. They may not have benefitted directly (which I very much doubt as I believe they were all looking the other way), but they were accountable; they had a duty to protect our hard earned cash.