Seating chart ‘coup’ rocks DPP as Chaponda makes way for Roza

It was meant to be just another dull day of parliamentary business. Instead, Malawi’s ruling party found itself a laughing stock — all because of where its MPs were told to sit. The Democratic Progressive Party was left red-faced on Monday after an eagle-eyed opposition backbencher noticed that veteran foreign affairs minister George Chaponda had […]

First Lady moves to cushion returnees from South Africa

First Lady Gertrude Mutharika’s charity, Beautify Malawi Trust (Beam), has distributed duvets, sugar, soap, soya pieces, orange juice and flour to around 1,000 Malawians returned from South Africa, in a handover staged at Joyce Chitsulo Stadium in Mwanza. Beam’s chairperson, Dingiswayo Jere, called it a safety net for returnees restarting their lives, while Chief Secretary […]

Court blocks ACB bid to stop Lin corruption case

High Court rebukes ACB over bid to drop corruption case against wildlife trafficker Lin Yun Hua High Court Judge Redson Kapindu has sharply criticised the Anti‑Corruption Bureau (ACB) for attempting to discontinue corruption proceedings against convicted wildlife trafficker Lin Yun Hua, dismissing the bureau’s application and warning that the move amounted to an abuse of […]

Parliament explodes in laughter as minister Gangata struggles to speak — MPs left roaring

Malawi Parliament descended into farce on Monday as MPs openly patronised Sports and Culture Minister Alfred Gangata, mocking his struggles with basic English the moment he rose to speak. Gangata, clutching prepared notes, inched through his statement line by line. “Mr Speaker Sir, I beg to propose… I beg to present the paper… under item […]

MP’s question over DPP seating sparks laughter in Malawi’s Parliament

Lilongwe Nyanja MP Steven Baba Malondera sparked laughter in the National Assembly on Monday after questioning changes to the seating arrangement of the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) in the chamber. Rising on a point of order after the House had adopted a motion, Malondera first sought clarification on how long the newly constituted ad hoc […]

Speaker sets up parliamentary committee to probe delays to Dowa fertiliser plant

Speaker of the National Assembly Sameer Suleiman has established a special parliamentary committee to investigate challenges facing businessman Napoleon Dzombe in his efforts to establish a fertiliser manufacturing plant in Dowa District. The matter was first raised in Parliament by Lilongwe Likuni MP Kelvin Mphande, who expressed concern over administrative and regulatory processes he said […]

SADC officials gather in Malawi to discuss Madagascar, DRC crises

Senior officials from Southern African Development Community (SADC) member states are holding a preliminary meeting in Salima ahead of the 28th SADC Ordinary Meeting of the Ministerial Committee of the Organ on Politics, Defence and Security Cooperation. Speaking at the opening of the meeting on Monday, Secretary for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs Chancy Simwaka […]

Chivayo’s charm offensive reaches First Lady: Malawi’s most awkward donor

There is a particular type of donor that any well-run charity ought to fear: the one whose generosity arrives with more baggage than a private jet’s cargo hold. Beautify Malawi, the charity chaired by the country’s first lady, Gertrude Mutharika, appears to have acquired exactly such a benefactor in Wicknell Chivayo, the Zimbabwean businessman whose […]

Woman’s body found in sack dumped at graveyard after brutal stabbing

Police in Mchinji are hunting for answers after the body of an unidentified woman was found stuffed inside a sack and callously dumped at a graveyard in Daniel Village. The gruesome discovery was made on 10 July, sending shockwaves through the local community. Cops say the victim, believed to be aged between 25 and 30, […]

Fake soldier arrested in Nkhata Bay over impersonation, impregnating two women

Police in Nkhata Bay have arrested a 31-year-old man, Maxwell Banda, of Chilumba village, Traditional Authority Ngokwe in Machinga district, on suspicion of impersonating a soldier in the Malawi Defence Force (MDF). Police spokesperson Enala Kalua said the incident occurred in March this year at a guesthouse in the district, where Banda had been lodging […]

Malawi to enforce mandatory data protection fees from September

The Malawi Communications Regulatory Authority (Macra) says mandatory registration fees for data controllers and processors will take effect on 1 September 2026, as the country moves to enforce the Data Protection Act of 2024. The annual fees, ranging from K50,000 for small and medium enterprises to K7 million for larger organisations, will apply to entities […]

Gwengwe says Mwanamvekha’s budget numbers were never going to add up

There is a particular kind of vindication that comes from watching your successor discover the arithmetic you once had to live with. Sosten Gwengwe, who held Malawi’s finance portfolio under the Chakwera government, now chairs Parliament’s Budget and Finance Committee — and from that vantage point, he has delivered a verdict on the current administration’s […]

Sand Music Festival forced to change venue after Lake Malawi floods wreck original plans

Organisers of the Sand Music Festival have revealed the real reason behind the delay in announcing this year’s venue – and it’s down to Mother Nature rather than anything more dramatic. Rising water levels on Lake Malawi have forced bosses to ditch plans to host the beloved festival in Salima, with rising floods swallowing up […]

Bobe murder trial adjourned to August as investigator defends police probe

The High Court in Blantyre has adjourned the murder trial of Dr Victoria Bobe to 24 August 2026, following the conclusion of the state’s re-examination of its third witness, Superintendent Christopher Pangeti, the lead investigating officer in the case. The re-examination followed extensive cross-examination on Friday and Monday by defence lawyers Michael Goba Chipeta and […]

Mwanamvekha faces reckoning as ‘recovery budget’ forecasts collapse

Barely three months after Finance Minister Joseph Mwanamvekha unveiled what government billed as a recovery budget to revive the economy and ease pressure on ordinary Malawians, the country’s economic trajectory is moving in the opposite direction. The warning signs are no longer coming only from political opponents. They are emerging from Parliament, independent economists and […]

Malawi, Tanzania seek diplomatic fix as unauthorised vessel and doctored images stoke tension

Malawi and Tanzania are working to resolve the matter diplomatically, according to the latest update, after a Tanzanian vessel was detained at Monkey Bay jetty on Lake Malawi for allegedly docking without prior clearance from Malawi Lake Services or the relevant security authorities. The incident has prompted a wave of reaction on Malawian social media, […]