Update on the Former President
From the AP:
BLANTYRE, MALAWI — Theft and corruption charges against the former president of this southern African nation have been dropped after the current president suspended the chief investigator in the case, Malawi's top prosecutor said Monday.
Bakili Muluzi had been due in court Tuesday to answer 42 counts of theft, corruption and breach of trust after millions of dollars in donor funds were allegedly diverted to his personal account during his time in office.
Director of Public Prosecutions Ishmael Wadi said, however, that he had no choice but to drop the charges after President Bingu wa Mutharika suspended the chief investigator in the case, Gustave Kaliwo. Wa Mutharika offered no reason for suspending the head of the Anti-Corruption Bureau hours after Muluzi's arrest Thursday.
Only the bureau's director or deputy director can lead prosecution of a corruption case, Wadi told The Associated Press in a telephone interview late Monday. The deputy's slot has never been filled.
After a daylong meeting with anti-corruption officials Monday, Wadi said he concluded, "I had no choice but to order unconditional discontinuance of the whole proceedings."
The bureau reserves the right to act against Muluzi in the future, he said.
Muluzi, Malawi's first democratically elected president, has been dogged by allegations of corruption for years.
He faced two indictments. The first concerned $10 million in development funds from Taiwan, Morocco, Libya and Rwanda that found their way into his account. The second concerned $50,000 that the government allegedly channeled to Muluzi through Malawi's embassy in Tanzania.
Muluzi's United Democratic Front party called the arrest a continuation of the "political persecution" waged by the administration of his hand-picked successor.
Wa Mutharika, the current president, quit the party that put him in power last year. Several former government officials are either being investigated or are on trial for fraud and corruption.
BLANTYRE, MALAWI — Theft and corruption charges against the former president of this southern African nation have been dropped after the current president suspended the chief investigator in the case, Malawi's top prosecutor said Monday.
Bakili Muluzi had been due in court Tuesday to answer 42 counts of theft, corruption and breach of trust after millions of dollars in donor funds were allegedly diverted to his personal account during his time in office.
Director of Public Prosecutions Ishmael Wadi said, however, that he had no choice but to drop the charges after President Bingu wa Mutharika suspended the chief investigator in the case, Gustave Kaliwo. Wa Mutharika offered no reason for suspending the head of the Anti-Corruption Bureau hours after Muluzi's arrest Thursday.
Only the bureau's director or deputy director can lead prosecution of a corruption case, Wadi told The Associated Press in a telephone interview late Monday. The deputy's slot has never been filled.
After a daylong meeting with anti-corruption officials Monday, Wadi said he concluded, "I had no choice but to order unconditional discontinuance of the whole proceedings."
The bureau reserves the right to act against Muluzi in the future, he said.
Muluzi, Malawi's first democratically elected president, has been dogged by allegations of corruption for years.
He faced two indictments. The first concerned $10 million in development funds from Taiwan, Morocco, Libya and Rwanda that found their way into his account. The second concerned $50,000 that the government allegedly channeled to Muluzi through Malawi's embassy in Tanzania.
Muluzi's United Democratic Front party called the arrest a continuation of the "political persecution" waged by the administration of his hand-picked successor.
Wa Mutharika, the current president, quit the party that put him in power last year. Several former government officials are either being investigated or are on trial for fraud and corruption.
posted by Dan Englander at
1:49 PM
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