Malawi’s Former President Muluzi Cleared Over $1 Million Corruption Case

By Joseph Dumbula.

The Hight Court of Malawi sitting in Blantyre has freed former president Bakili Muluzi from all the charges he was answering in relation to the alleged abuse of public funds amount to MK1.7 billion ($1 Million) in a corruption case which has dragged on for fourteen years now.

The court’s decision follows a certificate of discontinuance of the case which Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) Masauko Chamkakala issued on May 26 2023 to discontinue the matter.

Muluzi had earlier on appealed to the Supreme Court of Appeal challenging constitutionality of Section 32 subsection 2 (c) suggesting it infringes on the rights of the accused as it rests burden of proof to the accused.

Muluzi argued that application of the section in his case violates an accused person’s right to be presumed innocent until proven guilty.

Earlier on, Chief Justice Rezine Mzikamanda and Justices Lovemore Chikopa and Frank Kapanda dismissed the application in its entirety saying the section does not impose any obligation on accused person to prove their innocence.

The ruling implied that the case was to continue at the High Court.

Section 32(2)(c) of the Corrupt Practices Act says if a person is found in possession of unexplained property, being property that exceeds one’s known sources of income and the person does not provide an account for it, it is presumed that the property or income was obtained corruptly.

Muluzi was first arrested in 2006 and again in 2009, on charges of stealing millions of dollars in donor funding, and many hailed his arrest as a bold move towards fighting graft in a country that’s been held back by corruption.

It has been alleged he diverted donor money from countries like China, Libya, Morocco and others into his personal account.