Convicted wildlife trafficker walks free days after bail rejected — as top prosecutor’s past ties to accused spark storm

A convicted Chinese wildlife trafficker has sensationally walked free from a Malawian prison, just days after the High Court flatly rejected his bail application and ordered he remain behind bars — sparking fury and demands for answers.

Dedza Medium Security Prison confirmed that Lin Yunhua had been released after the State abruptly discontinued corruption proceedings against him, in a stunning U-turn that has left campaigners and lawmakers reeling.

Officer-in-charge Senior Superintendent Chimwemwe Mike Shaba confirmed the shock development, revealing the prison had received Lin’s release order and was moving swiftly to set him free.

“I have just received Lin’s release order, and we are proceeding to release him. I can confirm the development,” Shaba said.

The dramatic twist comes after the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) quietly filed a notice of discontinuance on Friday, September 18, 2026 — bringing to an abrupt end proceedings in which Lin stood accused of offering a staggering K30 million bribe, and even promising to complete a house, in a brazen bid to influence officials handling his earlier wildlife trafficking case.

Astonishingly, the U-turn came just two days after High Court Financial Crimes Division Judge Redson Kapindu firmly rejected Lin’s bail bid, ruling that no combination of conditions could adequately guard against the serious flight risk he posed.

Judge Kapindu had urged prosecutors to make a swift and clear decision on whether they intended to press ahead — and the State has now stunningly opted to drop the case altogether.

Adding fuel to the fire, the case has been dogged by explosive conflict-of-interest concerns, after it emerged that current DPP Fostino Maele previously acted as Lin’s own lawyer before taking up his prosecutorial post. Court records confirm Maele’s former law firm represented Lin during the very corruption proceedings now being scrapped — a revelation that has prompted the Malawi Law Society to publicly sound the alarm.

This is not the first time the State has tried to let Lin off the hook. Back in July, the High Court firmly blocked an earlier attempt by prosecutors to withdraw the case, forcing the Anti-Corruption Bureau to scramble and review whether to press on, seek his discharge, or discontinue proceedings entirely.

Yet astonishingly, Parliament’s own watchdogs say they were kept completely in the dark over the latest bombshell decision.

Legal Affairs Committee chairperson Gilbert Khonyongwa admitted his committee had received no word whatsoever.

“The Legal Affairs Committee is not aware of any decision to discontinue the criminal case against Mr Lin Yunhua,” he said.

The Ministry of Justice, meanwhile, appeared to dodge the growing controversy, referring all questions to the court record. Spokesperson Frank Namangale insisted the ministry does not discuss such matters with the media before formally reporting to Parliament.

Lin had originally been hauled before the courts accused of offering the eye-watering K30 million bribe and promising to complete the house of then Maula Prison officer-in-charge Aaron Ganyavu Kaunda, in a desperate bid to sway his earlier wildlife trafficking case. He strenuously denied the allegations.

His shock release now draws a line under the corruption case entirely — but the extraordinary circumstances surrounding it, and the DPP’s murky past ties to the very man he was meant to prosecute, look set to trigger fierce scrutiny in the days ahead.