Malawi: Former president arrested

  1. Posted on Thursday 26 February 2009 - 13:30
    Dolphyne
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    Joseph Appiah-Dolphyne, AfricaNews editor in Accra, Ghana
    Malawi has arrested former President Bakili Muluzi on charges of stealing $11 million in donor money, the country's Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB) has said. The bureau has been investigating Muluzi for the past two years for allegedly siphoning money from Taiwan, Morocco, Libya and other donors.
    muluzi
    "We have re-arrested him and charged him with 87 counts on allegations of siphoning over $11 million of donor money into his private account. He will appear in court today (Thursday)," ACB Director Alex Nampota said, according to Reuters.

    Muluzi, who stepped down in 2004 after unsuccessfully trying to change the constitution to allow him to stand again, denies any wrongdoing.

    Muluzi, hailed as a hero in 1994 for removing late dictator Kamuzu Banda, announced a comeback last year and plans to contest elections in May.

    He remains popular in his home region in the southern part of the country. Muluzi was detained last year on suspicion of being involved in a coup plot. The charges were later dropped.

    Muluzi, who ruled the poor southern African nation from 1994 to 2004, was first arrested over the allegations in 2006 but the then-director of public prosecutions threw out the charges.

    His supporters say the case is politically-motivated to stop him standing in the forthcoming presidential election.

    The inquiry comes amid concern that violence could flare before the forthcoming presidential election.

    The former presidents of Mozambique, Joacquim Chissano, and Ghana’s John Kufuor, were in Malawi on Wednesday to try to calm tensions.

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