Malawi Vice President Denies Corruption Accusations

Malawi’s Vice-President Saulos Klaus Chilima has denied allegations of corruption.

The allegations were contained in a report stating that, about a $150m (£125m) corruption scandal involving government contracts.

He accused the Anti-Corruption Bureau, ACB which published the report earlier this week, of failing to get his side of the story.

Mr. Chilima’s director of communication said that “For the record, the state vice-president vehemently denies the allegations that have been levelled against him, and will welcome the opportunity, at an appropriate time, of challenging the said allegations.”

He was named among 53 current and former officials who had received money from or helped British-Malawian businessman Zuneth Sattar between 2017 and 2021.

Following the report, President Lazarus Chakwera stripped Mr. Chilima of his powers though he cannot sack his deputy. But he has fired the country’s police chief George Kainja and his chief of staff Prince Kapondamgaga, who was also named in the report.

Mr. Kainja denies the allegations while Mr. Kapondamgaga has not yet commented.

Mr. Chilima was elected vice-president when his party, the United Transformation Movement, UTM formed an electoral alliance with President Chakwera’s Malawi Congress Party and seven other parties to challenge former President Peter Mutharika’s Democratic Progressive Party in June 2020.

BBC/CO