Three senior Democratic Progressive Party officials are yet to be taken to court hours after their arrest over dealings in their roles during the DPP regime.
The three, former Local government Minister Ben Phiri, former Finance Minister Joseph Mwanamvekha and former Reserve Bank Governor Dalitso Kabambe have separately been arrested in Lilongwe.
A police statement signed by James Kadadzera, Spokesperson for police, Kabambe and Mwanamvekha have been arrested on suspicion that they masterminded the falsification of Gross Liability and Net Base returns with intent to make the International Monetary Fund believe that the government of Malawi was meeting conditions connected to the Extended Credit Facility before its subsequent suspension.
The statement also says that Phiri has been arrested as a registered owner of Beata Investment in relation to some procurement fraud and corruption at the Ministry of Gender between 2018 and 2020.
Meanwhile, the opposition DPP has expressed shock with the arrests with Shadreck Namalomba, the party’s spokesperson believing the arrests could be political meant to silence the opposition.
“If they are political, then it’s yet another sad day in the history of this nation. We are being reminded of the dark ages of the MCP rule. But because everyone is innocent until proven guilty by a competent court of law, DPP is anxiously waiting to hear the charges that have been levelled against the Honorable Members. We shall then pronounce our official position as a party to the nation,” Namalomba said.