Journalist accuses Kamangila of shielding kidnap network to smear Attorney General Mbeta

A row has erupted in Malawi’s online political sphere after veteran  journalist Dickson Kashoti accused social media  whistleblower Alexious Kamangila of sitting on information about the network behind the abduction of British national Nusrat Osman — and of using unfounded rumour to attack Attorney General Frank Mbeta.

In a Facebook post, Kashoti alleged that Kamangila appeared to know the identity of the network involved in Osman’s abduction, yet had failed to alert police.

Kashoti went further, dismissing Kamangila’s conduct as habitual “hallucinating” aimed at tarnishing reputations for no reason, and suggested his apparent animosity towards Mbeta — an “agemate” — was rooted in jealousy over Mbeta’s professional success and his appointment by President Arthur Peter Mutharika to the office of Attorney General.

Kashoti insisted Mbeta has no personal ties within Malawi’s Asian community beyond professional dealings, calling it “ridiculous and ludicrous” to link him to what Kashoti described as a non-existent abduction cartel.

He challenged Kamangila to hand over any genuine information to police, who remain actively hunting for those responsible for Osman’s kidnapping.

Background

The dispute lands against the backdrop of two separate, high-profile national stories now colliding.

The first is the abduction of Nusrat Osman, 47, a British auditor and mother of two, who was seized by four men in a grey Nissan Dualis in Blantyre’s Mount Pleasant area on 11 September.

Police offered a 30 million kwacha reward for information leading to her rescue; she was freed roughly a week later in a police operation, though questions have persisted over the operation’s handling and the identity of those behind the kidnapping.

The second is Kamangila’s long-running public campaign against Attorney General Frank Mbeta.

Kamangila, a trained lawyer in self-imposed exile in Ireland and self-styled anti-corruption whistleblower who rose to national prominence in 2024 over allegations of judicial corruption, has repeatedly argued that Malawi’s fight against corruption cannot succeed while Mbeta holds the AG’s office.

Mbeta’s record has drawn scrutiny before: in 2015, while in private legal practice, he was accused by the Anti-Corruption Bureau of offering a bribe to a Malawi Revenue Authority official, an allegation that has remained a recurring point of controversy despite his subsequent appointment as Attorney General in October 2025.

Kamangila is no stranger to public clashes of this kind. He has previously traded heated accusations with figures including High Court Judge Kenan Manda, whom he has publicly branded “corrupt to the core” amid separate misconduct and defamation proceedings.