Atupele faces probe over dubious land sale: Malawi politics of dog-eat-dog  

The Anti Corruption Bureau (ACB) has hinted that United Democratic Front (UDF) leader Atupele Muluzi could also face probe over the role he might have taken in the dubious sale of patches of government land, including Livimbo Schools in Lilongwe.

Atupele: Could be quizzed

Muluzi was briefly the Minister of Lands, Housing and Urban Development in 2017 when a ‘lands syndicate’ is reported to have sold strategic patches of land to Malawians of Asian origin in the country’s major cities of Blantyre, Lilongwe, Mzuzu and Zomba.

The Kasungu-based non-governmental organisation Community Initiative for People Empowerment (CIPE) on Tuesday demanded that the Anti Corruption Bureau (ACB) should institute investigations to establish the role the UDF torchbearer in the May 21 tripartite elections took in the illegal sale of the prime land.

CIPE chairperson Anaclet Manda recalled on Tuesday that in March 2017, ACB arrested Mussa and others on allegations that they fraudulently issued citizenships and passports to Burundians and Rwandans, among other foreign nationals.

The suspects allegedly received bribes from foreigners in exchange for Malawian passports when Mussa was minister.

Mussa and David Kwanjana were charged with neglect of official duty contrary to Section 121 of the Penal Code and abuse of public office contrary to Section 25B(1) of the Corrupt Practices Act.

“Now, if you carefully analyse the passport-gate, you will see a big similarity with what that of the land-gate. Although Mussa has been claiming innocence because his role was only to approve as minister and that didn’t personally know the people who were applying for passports, the court found him with a case to answer,” said Manda.

He added: “We feel if Muluzi did not personally have a hand in the illegal sale of land, then he might have neglected his duty when the land was being sold to Malawians of Asian origin. That’s why we are urging ACB to institute investigations to establish the role the former minister played in the illegal sale of the land.”

ACB senior public relations officer, Egrita Ndala, assured in a telephone interview this morning that the graft busting body will not draw parameters in its probe.

Ndala said there will be no sacred cows in the land-gate investigations.

“Of course, we are not a position to tell who we are investigating. But let me assure the public that ACB will not set parameters in our investigations. Anyone involved in the land-gate will be pursued. So, I would like to appeal to the public to exercise some patience while we do our work,” Ndala said.

The young Muluzi is currently in China as visiting scholar at Peking University after losing his Machinga North East parliamentary seat in May 2019.

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Sato
Sato
4 years ago

Cast the net wider and I see a lot of ministers involved in land grabbing particularly government land.

Munthu
Munthu
4 years ago

ACB always appeals to Malawians to be patient while they do investigations, but can they point out which ones they have successfully completed?
Why do we still have this useless,toothless, clueless bureau being funded by taxpayers? If they did their work properly, the money recovered from successfully prosecuted cases would be sufficient to pay for, not only their staff, but also to pay for the corrupt police, and still have enough leftover for real development!

Isaac
Isaac
4 years ago

Matemba and ACB need to be investigated for corruption but by who……………..? We are killing our own country while others are busy building theirs. Shame.

Mujomba
Mujomba
4 years ago

Indians are best at State Capture, president captured, ministers captured,ACB captured,police captured, MEC captured, so who wl save poor Malawians ? Serious we need another Justice Zondo commission in Malawi

James Banda
James Banda
4 years ago

Corruption is normal in Malawi, there is no where were there is no corruption,, from state house to parliament, from judiciary, to police, from road traffic to immigration. Maybe we should just legalize corruption.

Nasingwe
Nasingwe
4 years ago

kodi 3 months anatisazika kuti akupita kuti khaya ,wabwerako atupele?mxiiiii kuba ngati tate wake yemwe
anafuna kuticotsa pa malo athu kuti malowo apatse mwwenye yemwe ali ndi sukulu yake.
pacakuti pake.mxiii they all stink. 17 billion siinamukwane gologolo

Aabwino
Aabwino
4 years ago

Fisi zabala mbuzi.

Kapado Chimulirenji
4 years ago

How can the public that the probe will bear fruit when the father (Bakili) of Atupele’s case of 1.7 bn is still dragging.The Government is not serious to end corruption because it wants its Ministers and all DPP supporters to acquire wealth dubiously as it is happening now.

Maunits
Maunits
4 years ago

ACB you have parameters do not lie to the nation please. Where are you on Police food ration today. Muthalika was involved in that and nothing has happened very bad for our mother Malawi.

Kaziwe Mulota
4 years ago

The probe should start from 2005 and I will be a key witness. When i joined the lands in 2005, land was being grabbed by politicians and shared among themselves. DPP cadets even took over reserved forest lands. Some of those DPP cadets are now UTM and others MCP. The rot is all over. No political party is free from this because some of their top officials beneffited from this. I knw of some current DPP officials who bought and sold land illegally. I knw of some UTM guyz who were in DPP who got land but sold it Nigerians.… Read more »

Gas Machine Head
Gas Machine Head
4 years ago
Reply to  Kaziwe Mulota

Mention them then! How do we believe you?

lincoln
lincoln
4 years ago
Reply to  Kaziwe Mulota

As the institutions which are supposed to enforce the law are docile and toothless, busy backing the corrupt politicians, best way is to start naming and shaming them.

Let the citizenry take the law in their own hands to name and shame.

Naming and shaming is an alternative form of punishment due to impact on reputation.

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