Citizenship scandal: activists say Uladi’s pardon shouldn’t shield beneficiary Chaudhry

Nearly a decade after Malawi’s citizenship scandal first came to light, human rights activists are renewing calls for authorities to investigate individuals who benefited from the scheme — arguing that the conviction of the minister responsible was never the full story.

Uladi Mussa, who served as Minister of Homeland Security under Joyce Banda’s administration, approved numerous citizenships and passports between 2013 and 2014 for foreign nationals who had not met Malawi’s legal residency requirements. He was convicted of abuse of office and neglect of duty by the High Court in October 2020 and sentenced to five years in prison, alongside co-accused immigration officer David Kwanjana.

In April 2023, however, President Lazarus Chakwera granted Mussa a presidential pardon, ending his sentence roughly two and a half years early.

Activists argue that Mussa’s pardon leaves an unresolved question: what of those who received citizenship through his approvals? Among the individuals named is Mahmood Azhar Chaudhry, a Pakistan-born businessman based in Blantyre, who rights campaigners say obtained Malawian citizenship through Mussa’s disputed decisions.

“The fact that authorities did not pursue the specific beneficiaries of Mussa’s corrupt activities does not mean these beneficiaries are clean. They must be investigated and brought to book,” said activist Moffat Mlinga.

Chaudhry’s case extends beyond the citizenship question. He is separately accused of falsely presenting himself as a diplomat, including erecting signage referring to a “Pakistan Consulate” in Blantyre and using vehicles bearing diplomatic registration plates. Malawi’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs confirmed in 2022 that he had never held diplomatic status, despite allegedly securing a diplomatic passport and misleading officials at the ministry and the Malawi Revenue Authority between 2018 and 2022.

He is further accused of misrepresenting his date of entry into Malawi in order to obtain citizenship, with immigration records reportedly contradicting his account.

In July, the Limbe Magistrate’s Court issued arrest warrants for Chaudhry and his wife, Neelam, on charges including false statements in citizenship applications and misrepresentation of diplomatic status.

Robert Mkwezalamba, chairperson of the Human Rights Consultative Committee, said Chaudhry’s record — including testifying under oath that he was a diplomat when he was not — warranted urgent action from authorities, including revocation of his citizenship and prosecution.

Activists have also raised concerns that Chaudhry has drawn on political connections to delay legal proceedings against him, including through his legal representation.

Separately, civil society groups are pressing the Director of Public Prosecutions to join a case before the Limbe Magistrate’s Court in which Chaudhry and his wife face allegations of fraudulent land transfers, brought by private prosecutors alongside the Malawi Police Service.

Campaigners say the broader implication of the case is one of institutional accountability: that prosecuting a single official, even one at the centre of the original scandal, does little to address the wider question of who ultimately benefited from it — and whether the system remains vulnerable to similar abuse.