Arrest warrant out for ex-Malawi president Joyce Banda over Cashgate: Police claim to have ‘credible evidence’
Malawi Police Service has issued an arrest warrant for former president Joyce Banda over allegations surrounding the huge corruption scandal known as Cashgate.
Banda, who was president from 2012 to 2014, left the country in September 2014 after coming third in elections a few months earlier, and she has given a myriad of reasons as to why she has not returned ever since.
In a statement issued by Malawi Police spokesman Senior Supritendant James Kadadzera said Banda is suspected of abusing her office in the Cashgate affair.
“The Malawi Police Service wishes to inform Malawians that its Fiscal and Fraud Section conducted some investigations on the suspected involvement of the former president in ‘Cashgate’ cases and unearthed credible evidence .
“The veidence gathered raises reasonable suspicion that the former president committed offences relating to abuse of office and money laundering,” reads a statement by Police.
Police said they are interested to question Banda on the suspected offences hence the issuing of a warrant of arrest to Banda, who is self-imposed exile.
“This warrant of arrest is in force and necessary legal fromalities are being pursued,” the Police statement said.
Police said they have informed the press and public about the warrant of arrest , which it noted is not standard practice, but pointed out that because of public interest that Cashgate cases have generated “necessitates providing such information to the public.”
The Cashgate scandal was uncovered in 2013, while Banda was Malawi leader, and led to the arrest of about 70 people, including government officials and business people, accused of stealing $32 million of government money through dubious construction deals.
Although not officially implicated, a number of lead suspects have made allegations involving Banda. Oswald Lutepo, a former official of Banda’s People’s Party who is serving an 11-year jail term after pleading guilty to theft and money laundering, announced ahead of his sentencing: “Joyce Banda already knows that she used me. I can’t start explaining things that she already knows. She knows how she used me.”
Leonard Kalonga, a former Chief Tourism Officer who was also convicted, claimed Banda was involved too.
Former Justice Minister, Ralph Kasambara, told the High Court he wanted the former president to be among his witnesses in his trial. And recently, it emerged that the jailed former Principal Secretary in the Ministry of Tourism and Culture said in her witness statements that Banda was the mastermind behind Cashgate and that the former president instructed cabinet ministers to solicit money for the 2014 election campaign.
Banda vehemently denies all the allegations and some of her supporters have suggested the allegations are politically motivated. But speculation is still rife.
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Why now in the middle of campaigning ? Do they think by convicting Banda will make Them popular or win the votes? First they should convict Mulizi. And investgate Bingu. Malawians would like all who has stolen from them convicted but not one person. Thieves are Thieves. What makes DDPS lmmun. Malawians want to know where Bingu got all the money to build mansion.and mausoleum. House in Portugal? House in Australia? A man hade little when he came to Malawi. He did not even had a house of his own. Malawi politics is eye to eye. APM can not forgive… Read more »
Just trying to divert peoples attention from the faulires of the incumbent government. We also need the Report that the President persistently sits on because he and his ministers are mentioned.
The only reason they have the warrant is because they know they can’t find her even though they know where she is ..its a disgrace
To be honest with everybody, Amayi made a series of blunders when she was in power. The first cardinal sin was for her not to pursue and finish Peter Wa Mutharika and the DPP midnight six for treason! damn JB you lost a good opportunity to finish your opponents politically, they should have been in prison a long time ago. Now you see what the DPP is doing to finish you. The second mistake was for her to be receiving criminals like Lutepo at State House to handover donations to the PP in form of minibuses, cash, that was a… Read more »
U are speaking. JB made a huge mistake. The first thing she should was to finish this evil man and NO more Muntharikas. She missed that Malawians have to suffer. Why donors have cut aid despite he is a professor? Ask yourself Malawians. His brother got a lot of aid first term. Its when his brother came to be his adviser. Bingu killed himself because of stress and pressure of his younger brother to become president. The man wanted this position so much to save his sickness by tax payers paying medical care abroad. Please a Malawi vote out DDP… Read more »
She must come and face the courts if she is clean, no need to protect thieves here even peter will be arrested if he is taking part in the looting
Arrest the fat thief and throw away the jail keys. Nothing of that magnitude could happen without her involvement and that of RBM. Arrest these fat thieves.
ayambe kaye amanga peter asanasiye pansi udindo coz naye azathawira kwawo, akuba tonse tikuona apolisi malo momumanga akumuteteza, chaponda naye ananena kuti ndikangomangidwa i will expose u peter, kusonyeza kuti naye anaba nawo, osamumanga asanathawe bwanji? apolisi nunalowa ndale nonse
Uku ndiye kupusa. It is like a murderer saying he should not be arrested until all murderers have been executed. Everybody has his own 40th Day. Tsiku la Joice lakwana. Arrest the fat thief!!!
Mayiyu amangidwe komanso mbava zikulamulilazinso azimange as well. Dont spare anyone
kkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkk APM is mad. 2 days ago he said he has no issues with JB, yesterday police say JB must be arrested. this shows that APM is the one who connived with police to arrest JB because he is afraid that JB will support opposition to win elections in 2019. This mafia govt is business wasting govt money with political issues while poor Malawians are dying with poverty, shame on them!!!!!!!
True words
He talks like Trump. Old age dont remember What they said. He is a snake. He want JB so badly. JB embarassed him by stoppning to take over after his brothers death. Do u think JB will get fair trial? NO! All have to face corruption charges even APM.
He is not clean. But first APM must not be a president.
Mukunana. Who unearthed the cashgate scandal? Who arrested the thieves? Was it not JB who instituted an audit inquiry into government accounts after noticing that money was being stolen? Was it not JB who sanctioned the arrest of cashgaters? On the contrary, when Bingu was informed by the then RB governor Perks Ligoya that money was being stolen in government Bingu responded “Note taken” and did nothing to stop the vice. When JB took office after the death of Bingu, she said: “There’s no money in government – I don’t know where it’s gone!” While she was the president people… Read more »
Let her mitigate all these in a court of law. But I dont see how all this talk proves her innocence. Arrest the fat thief!!!
Who unearthed cashgate scandal? Who arrested cashgaters? It is JB who uncovered cashgate. It is her who arrested cashgaters. When it became known to her that unscrupulous people were stealing govt moneys, JB invited auditors to uncover the truth. On the contrary, when RB governor Perks Ligoya informed late Bingu that people were stealing govt money, he simply replied “Note taken” and did nothing to stop the vice. And APM did nothing to arrest people (including his 7 ministers) implicated in the theft o govt money covering the period when Bingu was president. It is clear to everyone that cashgate… Read more »