Uladi’s night owl in police cell: PP says Chaponda deserves to be in
Acting People’s Party (PP) president Uladi Mussa on Monday spent a night in a police cell in Lilongwe after he was arrested on Monday when he handed himself to Anti Corruption Bureau (ACB) for allegedly issuing 50 passports dubiously to foreigners but said former Agriculture Minister George Chaponda deserved to have been behind bars after ACB officers seized suitcases stashed with cash – US$58,000 and MK124 million at his house.
Mussa handed himself to the bureau after the graft busting body failed to trace his whereabouts on Thursday.
Just before he surrendered, Mussa described his impending arrest as a witch hunt.
He dismissed the allegations, saying he was just doing his job as Home Affairs minister.
ACB spokesperson Egritta Ndala said Mussa was expected to appear before court on Tuesday and that likely charges are “abuse of office and negligence of duty.”
However, PP secretary general Ibrahim Matola said the arrest was government’s tactic to divert people’s attention from the issue of Chaponda.
“They want people to start talking about the arrest of honourable Mussa. This government is sick, they are thieves,” he retorted.
Matola said People’s Party would not allow the government to twist people’s minds on important issues just for political gain.
“Chaponda was found with huge sums of money between his legs, under pillows, under bed, every where, that is what people should be talking now,” he said.
President Peter Mutharika fired Chaponda in cabinet but since ACB’s search and seizure operation, he has not been picked for interrogation.
The cash stashed in suitcases at Chaponda’s residence reminded Malawians of the biggest corruption scandal called ‘Cashgate’ which involved fraudulent government payments for services not rendered and for “ghost pensions” to fictional government retirees.
Corrupt officials pocketed the money, using it to buy smart cars and mansions — or simply stuffed bundles of US dollars and Malawi kwacha in car boots, handbags and pillowcases, hence the “cash” in “Cashgate”.
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ACB, do you want to tell Malawians and foreign countries that Chaponda has no case, although he had been found with cash of Millions by you in his house? Does it mean, it was a game and fooling Malawians? Mwatitola kwambiri. What about the case of K577 billion and K236 billion which appeared in the audit report, when shall you brought the accused to book? Is how ACB of Malawi do your work? Go aheard with your good work. The Almighty God is watching you, if you doing good or bad. Him will judge accordingly.
Let us hope that the passports were not issued to characters akin to James Bond type. Issuance of passport to foreigners raises a lot of questions. Were the foreigners sent by foreign spy agencies to obtain them? The truth of the matter is that those obtaining them often misuse them. Examples abound. Leon Trotsky, a Russian involved in the 1917 Russian Revolution, was assassinated in Mexico City in 1940 by a Spanish national using a fraudulent Canadian passport. In 1962, the Australian Government discovered a USSR spy ring using Canadian passports. The man who assassinated Martin Luther King Junior in… Read more »
How much money is a Malawian allowed to keep in his house? Is there any limitation? Did Uladi sign any document to facilitate the passport forgery? Did Chaponda sign any document facilitating the exchange of money between supplier and customer which he later pocketed as commission or over-charge? The ACB can see the difference of the nature of the two allegations.
Chaponda’s case is one and Mussa;s case is another. Do not buy our sympathy at all. Let ACB deal with Mussa. Many of us Malawians have money in our houses (its one’s money and there is no problem with that).
What a shame is this? Are we real Malawian? I think this government is running by foreigners, so they want to kill any citizen of this country. Where is Mr Black Mamba Chaponda? Is he still in Malawi enjoying the thieves rights? God will punish all who are not taking care of citizens of this country mark my words, soon or later. Stupid ACB do you know that this is Malawi? If you don’t, wait and see.
ACB is talking about abuse of office and negligence. I am actually doubting because even the president was too negligent . How come he sent unreliable person to Zambia to negotiate for maize purchase as a result strange maize suppliers were introduced.
Further, he completely failed to suspend the minister as a result Dr Chaponda had time to set his office on fire. Is that not negligence and poor decision making
No blame game what is the difference between Chaponda and Uladi Akulu amati anyani sasekana michila palibe wabwino pa dziko lapansi
kkkkkkkkkkkkkkk !!!! PP ilibe nkaha apa. Sizikugwirizana. Kugulisa ma passport kwa ma foreigners ndikupezeka ndi cash.
wayiwona bangwe
Boma lobalalika ili. Palibe chanzeru lingapangepo apart from kudzichinjiliza pa umbava. Latha ma plan.