The head of the Malawi Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB), Martha Chizuma, has been released on bail on Tuesday after her arrest following the leak of an audio in which she complained about the alleged lack of government support in the fight against corruption. .
Chizuma was charged with “making a speech capable of prejudging a person before judicial proceedings”, in specific reference to Malawi’s attorney general, Steven William Kayuni, as reported by the newspaper ‘The Nation’.
In the audio leaked in April, the head of the ACB called Kayuni “corrupt” and “committed” to alleged cases of corruption, which led to his arrest. The president, Lazarus Chakwera, rejected calls to dismiss her for violating his obligation to keep investigations secret.
Chakwera prevailed in the 2020 elections, which were held after the 2019 presidential elections – in which former president Peter Mutharika was re-elected – were annulled by the courts due to irregularities during the process.
After that, the new president promised in his inaugural speech at the end of June 2020 to fight corruption in the country and asked the judicial apparatus “to do more to end the culture of corruption and selective justice”, although members of his own Executive They have been embroiled in corruption scandals.
