Ex-water authority chief arrested over audit bombshell — lawyer slams police for “skipping” proper arrest procedure

The former Chief Executive Officer of the National Water Resources Authority, Dwight Kambuku, has been arrested following damning findings uncovered by the National Audit Office, in a case now overshadowed by accusations of improper police conduct.

News of the arrest was confirmed by Kambuku’s lawyer, Chrispine Ndalama, who wasted no time hitting out at what he described as a worrying trend within the police force.

Ndalama cautioned officers against the practice of summoning suspects for questioning only to arrest them afterwards without following correct legal procedure, warning that such shortcuts could compromise the integrity of cases against the accused.

He went further, stressing that certain offences — including abuse of office — require police to obtain a proper warrant of arrest before any detention can lawfully take place, raising pointed questions over whether that process was followed in Kambuku’s case.

Kambuku is currently being detained at Area 6 Fiscal Police in Lilongwe, as investigations into the audit’s findings continue.

The arrest marks the latest in a series of high-profile cases involving senior public officials facing scrutiny over financial and administrative audits, as authorities press ahead with efforts to root out mismanagement in state institutions — though Ndalama’s intervention has now cast a shadow over the legal footing on which the case was built.