Event: Malawi

Malawi president Peter Mutharika Malawi’s government has ordered prosecutors to drop two major financial crime cases against 10 people, including sitting cabinet ministers and the country’s top fiscal officials, even as Lilongwe pursues a new programme with the International Monetary Fund (IMF). The office of the director of public prosecutions discontinued criminal proceedings against former Reserve Bank of Malawi (RBM) governor Dalitso Kabambe, his deputy Henry Mathanga, former finance minister Joseph Mwanamvekha, secretary to the treasury Cliff Chiunda and cabinet minister Jean Mathanga, among others. The two cases, which together named 10 accused, had been running for nearly five years and involved charges of abuse of office and breaches of procurement procedures at the centre of Malawi’s fiscal architecture. The discontinuance came just months after Mathanga was reinstated as deputy governor of the Reserve Bank and Cliff Chiunda confirmed as secretary to the treasury. This also comes after Peter Mutharika of the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) won Malawi’s September 2025 general election, defeating incumbent Lazarus Chakwera of the Malawi Congress Party (MCP). Mutharika’s return to the presidency ended five years of MCP rule, under which most of the criminal proceedings had been filed and prosecuted. The accused were DPP-era officials. Kabambe had served as RBM governor during Mutharika’s previous presidency, while Mwanamvekha was finance minister. The prosecutions, launched between 2020 and 2023, were framed publicly as anti-corruption efforts but critics alleged they were also instruments of political marginalisation. The individuals hold or have returned to senior state positions. The attorney general gave the instruction to discontinue the cases and the director of public prosecutions acted on it. Court documents confirm the DPP admitted he sought guidance under the Constitution and was told by the attorney general to discontinue the cases. Under Malawi’s Constitution, the DPP is meant to exercise prosecutorial…