Police in the Southern African nation of Malawi on Wednesday arrested a former finance minister over graft allegations involving the illegal sale of strategic grain reserves, which led to a food crisis.
”We have arrested Friday Jumbe this afternoon in connection with the ongoing investigations into how maize was sold two years ago,” police spokesperson Willie Mwaluka said.
Mwaluka said Jumbe was arrested at Blantyre airport while on his way to South Africa on a private visit after ”we got instructions from the director of prosecutions to detain Mr Jumbe for questioning”.
Jumbe, a lawmaker and top official of the ruling United Democratic Front chaired by former president Bakili Muluzi, was fingered in a probe as the main culprit behind the corrupt sale of 60 000 tonnes of the national staple maize to Kenya.
That sale led to searing hunger that threatened up to a third of the country’s 11-million people.
Jumbe allegedly sold the maize when he was general manager of the grain-marketing parastatal Agricultural Development and Marketing Corporation.
Jumbe is the second high-profile figure in Malawi to be arrested over the past two months for alleged graft.
Malawi’s President Bingu wa Mutharika has launched an anti-corruption drive since he was elected in May on a platform that called for fixing the economy, which has taken a turn for the worse since international aid was suspended in 2002.
International donors have said that corruption in Malawi, one of the world’s poorest countries, is on the rise.
Humphrey Mvula, a top aide to former president Muluzi, was arrested last month and is answering to 10 counts of corruption.
Director of Public Prosecutions Ishamel Wadi has said more than six ministers and top-ranking officials were involved in corruption during the 10-year rule of Muluzi, which ended this year, leading to the loss of more than $100-million. — Sapa-AFP