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Articles by Wongani Chiuta
Malawi: 'Don't Ruin Your Reputation' - Kenani Brands Nation Newspaper a 'Cheerleader of Underperformance'
Social commentator, practising auditor and acclaimed writer Onjezani Kenani has delivered a scathing broadside against Nation Publications Limited (NPL), accusing the respected media house of abandoning its watchdog role and becoming a defender of government underperformance. In a strongly worded Facebook post, Kenani, who says The Nation newspaper played a pivotal role in launching his writing career, expressed deep concern over what he views as a shift in the publication's editorial direction.
Malawi: Speaker's Lawyers Seek to Block Attorney General From Courtroom Takeover
A legal row has erupted over who should represent Speaker of Parliament Sameer Suleman and the National Assembly in a High Court case challenging plans to establish 12 parliamentary committees. Nicholls & Brookes, the law firm appointed by the Parliamentary Service Commission to represent the Speaker and Parliament, has asked the High Court to set aside Attorney General Frank Mbeta's notice of change of legal practitioners and bar him from acting for the two defendants.
Malawi: Suleman Questions Muslim Representation in Cabinet, Sparking Debate
Speaker of Parliament Sameer Suleman has sparked a national debate after questioning the representation of Muslims in government, arguing that the country's sizeable Muslim population remains underrepresented in senior public appointments. Speaking during prayers organised by the Jamat Area 13 Mosque in Lilongwe over the weekend, Suleman said Muslims could no longer be considered a minority in demographic terms, yet appeared to have little presence in key government positions.
Malawi: The Plot to Silence Jane Ansah - MBC Accused of Blacking Out Malawi's No. 2
The claim from the office of First Vice-President Jane Ansah is as simple as it is troubling: Malawi's State broadcaster no longer appears interested in covering her activities. According to her communications director, Richard Mveriwa, events involving the country's First Vice-President are being ignored by the Malawi Broadcasting Corporation (MBC) on both radio and television. "Maybe, yes, they are giving us a blackout," he said.
Malawi: Criticism of Nation Newspaper Fuels Wider Questions About Press Freedom and Trust
A fresh debate over media independence has erupted in Malawi after a prominent social media commentator accused one of the country's largest newspaper groups of abandoning its watchdog role and aligning itself too closely with political interests. The controversy was sparked by writer and social commentator Onjezani Kenani, who questioned the editorial direction of Nation Publications Limited (NPL) in a series of Facebook posts.
Malawi: Speaker Hits Nack At Namalomba - 'Who Is He to Tell Me to Produce Evidence?'
Speaker Sameer Suleman and Information Minister Shadric Namalomba have traded savage blows over allegations of corruption, with neither man prepared to back down. It all kicked off on Saturday when Suleman, preaching at prayers in Lilongwe, blasted corruption as a cancer that is choking the country's development. Namalomba, who is also government spokesman, fired back on Facebook, demanding the Speaker produce evidence.
Malawi: Fertiliser Delays Put Mbilizi Under Fresh Scrutiny
Barely weeks after facing scrutiny over fertiliser procurement allegations, Agriculture Minister Roza Mbilizi has again found herself at the centre of a growing controversy, this time over delays in the rollout of the Farm Inputs Subsidy Programme (Fisp) as the approach of the planting season raises concerns among agricultural experts and farmers alike.
Malawi: MCP's Chakwera Gamble Exposes a Party Torn Between Renewal and Nostalgia
The Malawi Congress Party has settled on an answer to one of the questions that has hung over the opposition since its election defeat: it wants Lazarus Chakwera to lead it back into battle in 2030, even if that means rewriting the party's constitution.
Malawi: Umodzi Chief Kamlepo Kalua Claims Profits Amid Suspension Dispute
There is a familiar quality to disputes in Malawi's public sector: less argument over policy than over who, exactly, is in charge. The latest instalment comes from Umodzi Holdings, where the chief executive, Kamlepo Kalua, says the state-owned hospitality group is profitable and preparing to publish a positive quarterly report, even as the company's board maintains that he has been suspended from his post. Kalua, the former MP for Rumphi East, paints a picture of a company on the up.
Malawi: Court Clears Way for Government to Recall Former Malawi Envoy to Kuwait
IRC lifts interim protection for Younos Abdul Karim, accepting government's argument that his recall can proceed while the wider legal challenge continues. The Industrial Relations Court has removed a temporary legal obstacle that had prevented the government from recalling former Malawi ambassador to Kuwait, Younos Abdul Karim, in a ruling that underscores the uncertain legal terrain surrounding diplomatic appointments and presidential authority.
Malawi: 'Political Witch Hunt' - Mtambo, Trapence and Sembereka Rush to Court to Block Arrest Warrants
Three former leaders of Malawi's Human Rights Defenders Coalition (HRDC) have launched a dramatic court move to stop their arrest, claiming police are pursuing them over a case that was thrown out more than six years ago. Former HRDC chairperson Timothy Mtambo, alongside activists Gift Trapence and McDonald Sembereka, has asked the Chief Resident Magistrate's Court in Lilongwe to cancel arrest warrants issued earlier this month.
Malawi: Chakwera, Mumba and the 2030 Clock - Analysts Say Parties Must End Feuds Now
Malawi's major political parties have been urged to resolve internal disputes and strengthen their grassroots structures well ahead of the 2030 General Election, amid growing signs of factionalism within the Malawi Congress Party (MCP), the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) and the United Transformation Movement (UTM).
Malawi: Chakwera Heads to Ghana As Church Ties Return to Spotlight
Former Malawi president Lazarus Chakwera has departed for Ghana where he is set to attend the 10th World Assemblies of God Congress (WAGC 2026) in Accra, which gets under way on 14 October. According to a statement issued by his spokesperson, Counsel Gift Nankhuni, the former head of state will participate in a series of engagements during the high-profile church gathering before returning to Malawi via Kamuzu International Airport on 20 October.
Malawi: Zeze Kingstone Criticised After Video Shows Him Throwing Banknotes At Fans Original
Musician faces public backlash and possible action over concert footage; Reserve Bank has repeatedly warned against mistreating the kwacha The musician Zeze Kingstone has been widely criticised on social media after a video showed him throwing banknotes at a crowd while dancing during a live performance at the Bingu International Convention Centre (BICC) grounds in the early hours of Sunday. The footage has circulated widely online, drawing strong condemnation from members of the public.
Malawi: Court Freeze Deepens Pressure Over K128bn Amaryllis Takeover
There are bad investments, there are questionable investments and then there are investments that leave everyone asking a rather simple question: who, exactly, was minding the shop? That question now hangs over the Public Service Pension Trust Fund's K128 billion acquisition of the Amaryllis Hotel in Blantyre. The man charged with cleaning up the mess, statutory manager Stain Singo, wants the transaction undone and the money recovered.
Malawi: K587bn Road Bill - Two Firms Set to Cash in On Chiweta-Karonga Revamp
Two construction firms are in line to share a whopping K587.1 billion to fix a 105km stretch of road in northern Malawi. The Roads Authority (RA) has picked Unik Construction Engineering Ltd to rehabilitate the 53km Chiweta-Wovwe Bridge section in Rumphi and Karonga districts, in a deal worth K326.1 billion. Chinese giant China Civil Engineering Construction Corporation is tipped to bag the 52km Wovwe Bridge-Karonga stretch in Karonga District, for K261 billion.
Malawi: Bright Mhango's Whiplash Week - Savage Govt Critique, Then a Staunch Defence of the Pre's Health
A razor-sharp media commentator has left Malawi's political class reeling after a whiplash-inducing run of broadcasts -- first tearing into the government with brutal honesty, then turning around to shred opposition claims about the President's health.
Malawi: Health Minister Admits Malawi Facing Medicine Shortage 'Crisis' - KCH Faces 5,000-Patient Surgical Backlog
There is a kind of honesty that only arrives once denial has become impossible, and Malawi's health system produced two versions of it in the space of a single news cycle this week. At Kamuzu Central Hospital, it took the form of a number: nearly 5,000 people now waiting for surgery, a queue grown so long that the hospital's own director general fields daily calls from families asking, in effect, whether grief or desperation can be converted into a shorter wait.
Malawi: Questions Over CDF Spending in Constituency Where MP's Election Was Nullified
A K370 million bridge at Luweya, where a former councillor was convicted over diverted bridge materials. An MP the High Court declared not duly elected, still awaiting the Supreme Court. Her husband and predecessor, whose abuse-of-office conviction was upheld on appeal. Nyasa Times examines K1.178 billion in new CDF projects and the court record behind them.
Malawi: Success, On Mutharika's Own Terms - - and the Terms Nobody Else Is Quite Using
There is a particular rhetorical move politicians reach for when a year has gone neither brilliantly nor badly, and Peter Mutharika reached for it with real fluency on MBC this week: the rollercoaster. It is a useful word, because it promises motion without committing to a direction. Things went up. Things went down. You, the listener, are invited to remember the thrill rather than interrogate the destination.
Malawi: Nine Demands and One Doubt - HRDC Challenges Mutharika's Grip On Power
The most striking line in the Human Rights Defenders Coalition's latest statement is not a demand but a doubt. Malawians, it says, are "entitled" to know whether President Peter Mutharika is actually running the country. Issued on Saturday, the statement accuses the administration of eroding the independence of key institutions while ordinary citizens struggle with failing public services.
Malawi: Army Boss in Cuffs - Ex-Malawi Defence Force Commander Arrested Over 'Illegal Arms Trafficking' and Terrorism-Linked Offences
A retired former commander of the Malawi Defence Force has been dramatically arrested over allegations of illegal arms trafficking in a case set to rock the country's security establishment. The Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB) announced on Thursday that General Paul Valentino Phiri (Retired), once one of the most powerful figures in Malawi's military hierarchy, had been taken into custody on five counts related to abuse of office and dealing in terrorist property.
Malawi's Fuel Shortage Is a Forex Crisis Wearing a Different Face
There is a particular kind of queue that tells you more about the state of a nation than any government press release. It forms outside a filling station, it does not move for hours, and everyone in it already knows what the attendant is going to say before he says it. Those queues are back in Malawi, and they are getting longer. What began weeks ago as scattered stockouts has hardened, with grim predictability, into something closer to a national condition.
Malawi: Muluzi's Age Argument Against Mutharika
There is a particular kind of political attack that requires no evidence, no policy critique, and no real engagement with an opponent's record, merely the passage of time itself. Atupele Muluzi has now deployed it twice against Prof Arthur Peter Mutharika, and it is worth asking whether it amounts to much of an argument at all.
Malawi: The Mystery of Malawi's 2nd VP Chihana's Nairobi Trip
There is a particular genre of diplomatic non-story that has become familiar in the age of the Facebook communiqué: two politicians meet, one of them posts a photograph, and the rest of us are left to work out what, if anything, actually happened. Malawi's Second Vice President, Enoch Kamzingeni Chihana, has just supplied a textbook example. We know he was in Kenya.
Malawi Faith Leaders Demand Action As $437m Lifeline for HIV, TB and Malaria Patients Hangs in Balance
Pressure is mounting on Malawian authorities to end a bitter standoff threatening the country's next Global Fund windfall, as a growing coalition of faith leaders and rights groups warn that thousands of lives could be at stake if the impasse drags on any longer.
Malawi: 'We Built Your Democracy' - Bishop's Savage Reminder to Malawi's Leaders
The venue was the message.Bishop Martin Mtumbuka didn't deliver this at a press conference or a pastoral letter -- he did it from the altar, during a Mass built around 125 years of Catholic presence in Malawi. That matters. The Malawian Catholic Church has a specific institutional memory of speaking from the pulpit at moments of political tension -- the 1992 pastoral letter Living Our Faith is the textbook example, credited with helping crack open one-party rule under Banda.
Malawi's Ex-No.2 Lets Rip - Usi Brands DPP and MCP 'Twins' As He Accuses New Govt of Outdoing Predecessors in Graft
Malawi's former Vice President Dr Michael Usi has torn into the country's ruling Democratic Progressive Party, declaring there is barely any difference between the current DPP administration and the MCP government he served under -- except that the DPP, he says, has taken corruption to new heights.
Malawi Court Warns Against Two-Tier Justice for Rich Defendants - 'No to Buying Freedom'
A Malawian High Court judge has rejected proposed bail conditions for a convicted wildlife trafficker and money launderer, warning that allowing wealthy defendants to fund private detention arrangements would create unequal treatment before the law. Judge Redson Kapindu turned down the conditions proposed by Lin Yunhua, who had offered to reside at his daughter's house in Lilongwe's Area 49 upon release, with the property put forward as collateral should he breach his bail terms.
Malawi: MBC, the Nation Give Utm's Kabambe Blackout On His Address
Despite being widely covered elsewhere, public broadcaster MBC and privately-owned daily newspaper The Nation have given UTM Party leader Dr Dalitso Kabambe no coverage of his sharp critique of the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP), delivered one year after Malawians elected it into office. Kabambe's address on Wednesday was widely covered in the local media, but MBC ignored it across all its platforms, while The Nation also shunned coverage of the speech.
Malawi: Kabambe Alleges Eye-Watering Billions Missing in Water Board, Escom and Maize Import Scandals - As He Accuses DPP of Shielding the Corrupt
UTM president alleges over K20 BILLION involved in disputed Blantyre Water Board transactions Claims K38.8 billion "disappeared" from maize import deal involving Zambia Alleges further billions missing at Southern Region Water Board, ESCOM and NOCMA Accuses DPP government of protecting and shielding those implicated in corruption Follow us on WhatsApp | LinkedIn for the latest headlines Says corruption is directly depriving Malawians of medicines, roads and water UTM president Dalitso Kabambe...
Malawi: Kabambe Wades Into VP Ansah Row, Accusing Govt of Triggering Constitutional Crisis
UTM president Dalitso Kabambe has waded directly into the growing row over Vice-President Jane Ansah's treatment within government, branding it nothing short of a constitutional and governance crisis. Kabambe alleged that Ansah is being systematically left out of Cabinet meetings and is not being delegated to represent President Peter Mutharika at official functions, even when she is available to attend.
Malawi: MPs Offer to Send Chilima Crash Witness for Psychiatric Tests
One MP openly asked whether Duma should be sent for a brain scan to examine his mental state MP questions how Chilima could have been standing at an open aircraft door mid-flight One MP suggested soldiers should be asked to fire shots to test whether Duma had been treated by a traditional healer to withstand bullets Follow us on WhatsApp | LinkedIn for the latest headlines Dramatic and, at times, bizarre exchanges erupted at Parliament's Ad Hoc Committee investigating the death of former...
Malawi: DPP Torn Apart By Factions, Admits VP Ansah in Bombshell Interview
Estranged Malawi Vice-President Jane Ansah has dropped a political bombshell, admitting for the first time that she is fully aware of bitter factions tearing through the governing Democratic Progressive Party -- and claiming she has been deliberately shut out ever since taking office. "I am really aware that there are factions," Ansah declared, when confronted with the question during an explosive exclusive interview with Zodiak Broadcasting Station.
Malawi's VP Ansah Accuses Chief Secretary Saidi of Blocking Her From Cabinet Meetings
Malawi's Vice-President, Jane Ansah, has accused the country's most senior civil servant of deliberately excluding her from Cabinet business, in an extraordinary public intervention that lays bare tensions at the top of government.
Malawi VP Ansah Speaks Out Over Marginalisation Within Mutharika Administration
State Vice-President Dr Jane Ansah has said she is being sidelined by figures within the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) administration, in a rare public intervention that exposes tensions at the heart of government. Speaking on Monday, Ansah said she was aware of those responsible for undermining her role, though she declined to name them.
Malawi: 'I'm Not a Cry Baby' - VP Ansah Says Cold Reception Began On Day of Nomination
Malawi's First Vice-President, Dr Jane Mayemu Ansah, has broken her silence to reveal the extraordinary extent to which she claims to have been sidelined, marginalised and ostracised within government -- but insisted she has no plans to run crying to the President who handpicked her for the role.
Malawi: 'Homeland Security Is Supposed to Protect, Not Threaten' - Ntata's Attack On Chisale's Whipping Threat
A Malawian government deputy minister has been accused of threatening to unleash violence against opposition supporters -- in astonishing remarks that legal experts say expose him as constitutionally unfit for office. Norman Chisale, who serves as Deputy Minister of Homeland Security with responsibility for Operations, is said to have warned members of the opposition UTM party that "we are about to start whipping people" if they continue "moving from place to place" campaigning.
Malawi: Row Over 'King' Titles As Ngoni Heritage Groups Challenge Malawi Govt Stance
The Mzimba Heritage Association and Maseko Ngoni Heritage Trust have challenged the government's position that Malawi's laws do not recognise or allow the establishment of kingdoms or the conferment of the title of king. In a joint statement, the organisations defended the use of the titles Inkosi ya Makhosi and King for M'mbelwa V and Gomani V respectively, arguing that the institutions are rooted in the history and customary laws of the Ngoni people.
Malawi: The Slow Grinding of Magalasi's Case, and What It Reveals About Malawi's Justice System
There is a particular kind of theatre to Malawi's high-profile corruption cases, and Collins Magalasi's has, over the course of a single dramatic week, supplied nearly all of it: fresh charges sprung mid-hearing, magistrates swapping roles, sympathisers queuing to shake a defendant's hand, and a defence lawyer left, by his own admission, simply "surprised." The economist and political consultant now faces the prospect of remaining in custody for at least seven more days, after a court ruled...
Malawi: Opposition Unites to Demand Mutharika Address Malawians Over Mounting Crises
Malawi's opposition political parties have thrown their weight behind Parliament's decision to launch a series of high-profile inquiries into pressing national issues, using the moment to unleash a fresh wave of criticism against President Peter Mutharika's administration.
Malawi: 'Piecemeal' Charges - Magalasi's Lawyer Accuses State of Dragging Out Case to Keep Him Locked Up
The Chief Resident Magistrate's Court in Lilongwe is set to deliver its ruling on Thursday on whether former Malawi Energy Regulatory Authority (MERA) chief executive officer Collins Magalasi should be granted bail, following a contentious hearing marked by conflicting accounts of the police search conducted at his home. Magalasi appeared in court accused of aiding a man identified as Lovemore to hack the phones of President Peter Mutharika and several senior government officials.
Malawi: Speaker Suleman's New Committees Draw Fresh Warnings From Critics
There is a particular genre of political theatre that Malawi's Parliament performs rather well: the announcement of an inquiry. A crisis erupts -- blackouts, a suspicious K700 million transaction, holes in the fertiliser subsidy scheme -- and, on cue, a committee is convened to investigate it. The country nods along, half-hopeful, half-weary, aware from long experience that the announcement itself is usually the most consequential part of the process.
Malawi: Treason-Charged Namiwa Urges Mutharika to Boost Prison Workers' Pay to Stop 'Corruption'
Sylvester Namiwa, leader of the Centre for Democracy and Economic Development Initiatives (CDEDI), has broken his silence after being gagged by the High Court from commenting further on his earlier controversial claim of "President in two months" -- revealing his organisation has written to President Peter Mutharika, urging him to use his authority to grant special allowances to prison staff.
Malawi: The K100 Billion Standoff Holding Up Mombera University
Eleven years after its foundation stone was laid, Mombera University remains unbuilt -- the latest casualty of a procurement dispute between Malawi's spending watchdog and the Ministry of Education over how a K100 billion contract should be awarded.
Malawi: Chilima Plane Crash Inquiry Lays Bare Malawi's Aviation Safety Crisis
The parliamentary inquiry into the June 10, 2024 plane crash that killed Vice-President Saulos Chilima and eight others has heard troubling testimony suggesting Malawi's aviation infrastructure suffers from long-standing structural deficiencies -- raising uncomfortable questions about institutional readiness that extend well beyond the immediate circumstances of the crash itself.
Malawi: Chakwera's Account of the Day Chilima Died No Longer Adds Up
There is a version of events from 10 June 2024 that Malawians have been asked to accept for over a year: that a plane went missing, that confusion reigned, that a government did its best amid the chaos of an unfolding tragedy. Testimony now emerging before Parliament's ad hoc committee investigating the Chikangawa crash suggests that version deserves rather more scrutiny than it has so far received -- and increasingly, so does the man who delivered it.
Malawi: Inquiry Hears of Gaps in Tracking Chilima Fatal Plane's Final Movements
A discrepancy has emerged between the final position reported by the pilot of the military aircraft that crashed near Chikangawa in June last year, killing former vice-president Saulos Chilima and eight others, and the flight-tracking data contained in the German Bureau of Aircraft Accident Investigation's interim report, a parliamentary inquiry has heard.
Malawi: Mzuzu Airport's Safety Gaps Exposed After Chilima's Fatal Crash
Mzuzu Airport has been operating for more than ten years without functional air navigation equipment and lacks even basic systems to record radio communications, a parliamentary inquiry into aviation safety has been told, in a startling revelation that raises fresh questions over the airfield's role in the fatal crash that killed former Vice-President Saulos Chilima.
Malawi: Mpesi, 3 MEC Officials Charged Over K9million School Fees Scandal - - As Separate K33million Dubai Trip Allowance Claim Also Emerges
Four senior Malawi Electoral Commission (MEC) officials, including immediate-past Chief Elections Officer Andrew Mpesi, have been formally charged with misuse of public funds, after appearing before the Lilongwe Magistrate's Court amid a widening scandal over how public money was spent within the electoral body.
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