Malawi’s Vice President Saulos Chilima has vehemently denied allegations that he is involved in corruption dealings with business person Zunneth Sattar.
This comes as President Lazarus Chakwera announced Tuesday the decision to withhold Chilima from any delegated duties.
According to a statement by Pilirani Phiri, Director of Communications in the Office of the Vice President, the manner in which the bureau has proceeded on the matter is very troubling as it only accused him of a crime without providing any particulars or evidence on the same.
He said the bureau is providing a prejudicial one-sided public narrative which has incited public anger against the so-called mentioned individuals, who helplessly watch their lives being ruined as they wait for the opportunity to voice their side of the story.
The statement further reads, that to date the bureau has not confronted him with the said allegations so that he has opportunity of defending himself.
Chilima has advised the bureau to fight corruption within the confines of the law and it must not be abused for political or other objectives.
Chakwera also fired Inspector General of Police George Kainja, and suspended State House Chief of Staff Prince Kapondamgaga and Chairperson for the Public Procurement and Disposal of Assets Authority John Suzi Banda for the same reasons.
In a televised national address, the president disclosed that the report by the ACB named 84 public officers suspected of being bribed by Sattar in exchange for government contracts.
According to the president, the ACB has found that the Malawi Police Service and the Malawi Defence Force awarded 16 contracts worth over 150 million U.S. dollars to five companies belonging to Sattar between 2017 and 2021, but in some contracts, the government was defrauded by “unfairly high and inflated” prices of some equipment.
The Malawian Constitution does not mandate the president to suspend or remove the vice president, hence Chakwera’s decision to withhold the vice president from delegated duties.
The president said, “The best I can do for now, which is what I have decided to do, is to withhold him from his (the vice president) office any delegated duties while waiting for the Bureau to substantiate its allegations against him and to make known its course of action in relation to such.”