Malawi govt top brass shielding Chifomboti embroiled in illegal public land sales

One of the three government officials from the Ministry of Lands, Housing and Urban Development who were arrested for allegedly being involved in fraudulent sale of public land has been left scot free without being charged following pressure from some powerful  government official including some State House officials, Nyasa Times can reveal.

The three, Flemings Chifomboti, Diverson Mlozi and Rose Ajasi, were arrested last week by police in for allegedly forging signatures and producing fake lease documents to fraudulently sell public land.

They have allegedly being doing this in connivance with some crooked   businessmen, Mustag Mohammed.

According to an insider privy to the information of what is happening, there is enormous pressure from some very powerful individuals on the  acting Inspector General of Police, Duncan Mwapasa to halt the investigation and let Chifomboti off the hook for reasons that  cannot  be immediately explained.

The source said the acting Inspector General of Police is being pestered with calls to suspend the investigation of the Ministry of Land official for strange reasons.

“Apparently, Chifomboti is the one who has also been facilitating and selling of some prime land to some very powerful individuals at State House and it is the view of these people that arresting and investigating him by the Police may reveal some toxic information about their involvement in corrupt land deals.

“This powerful  ring is at the centre of some corrupt land deals across the country worth many billions of Kwacha and that is the information they would not want to land in the public domain,” said the source.

President Peter Mutharika recently directed that  the land selling syndicate  must be busted following  the arrest  last months by police of seven people in Lilongwe who created a parallel lands office and fraudulently sold six plots in Lilongwe for K550 million to some unsuspecting Malawians. This forced PS in the Ministry of Lands, Housing and Urban Development Mwandidya to admit that the land department is indeed rotten with corruption.

According to the source, the cracking down on the land syndicate was a good beginning, and it was a step in the right direction when Chifomboti and his two colleagues from the Ministry of Lands were arrested last week because he is the one who is alleged to have been central in the fraudulent public land transactions.

“But what is happening now is a case of three steps forward and two steps backwards because the instructions that are coming from State House will clearly throw spanners in the works of justice over corruption at the Ministry of Lands,”  the source said.

Chifomboti is currently on bail but the source added that it is often the duty of police to comprehensively investigate cases like these and hand over a rich docket of evidence to the court so that the culprit is tried and a conviction secured.

He added that it is this investigation part by the police, which is being deliberately derailed to favour Chifomboti and his State House minders.

Added the source: “Mwapasa will most certainly oblige and curve in to the demand of the State House ring, but that would directly go against President Mutharika’s directive and spirit to fight corruption.

“It will also mean that Malawians will not get to know the other deals that Chifomboti has so far facilitated for these powerful people and their business friends. I can assure you, the deals are astronomical.”

It remains to be seen whether Chifomboti will be comprehensively investigated and prosecuted and whether his case will be successfully brought to its logical conclusion in view of pressure from State House to drop the investigation.