Zamba rearrested, Kawale also nabbed

Police yesterday arrested former Secretary to the President and Cabinet (SPC) Colleen Zamba on fresh abuse of office allegations and former Minister of Agriculture Sam Kawale on charges yet to be disclosed. Zamba handed herself over to National Police Headquarters in Area 30, Lilongwe after officers had failed to find her at her home on Sunday, according to her lawyer George Kadzipatike. She was later transferred to Kanengo Police Station and denied police bail.

Kadzipatike said the fresh arrest is not related to the December 2025 case in which Zamba was accused of recruiting about 300 people into the public service without following procedures. “We have not been given particulars of the new offence, only that it is an abuse of office allegation. It is a different matter altogether,” he said, accusing police of abusing their arresting powers.

Zamba, who served as SPC between 2022 and 2025, is currently on court bail in the earlier case. National Police spokesperson Lael Chimtembo confirmed the arrest but declined to disclose details, saying police would communicate the charges later. Both Gwengwe and Kawale are serving members of Parliament (MPs) and Kadzipatike, himself a legislator for Dowa Kasangadzi Constituency, accused the police of violating parliamentary privileges provisions.

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Gwengwe chairs the Budget and Finance Committee of Parliament while Kawale is a member of the Transport, Land and Public Infrastructure Committee. Both committees are scheduled to meet this week, according to a schedule of parliamentary committee meetings. In a January 19 2026 letter to Inspector General of Police, Clerk of Parliament Fiona Kalemba requested for the release of former Information minister Moses Kunkuyu, stressing that committee meetings form part of the official business of the National Assembly and that MPs’ attendance should not be impeded.

Yesterday, Kadzipatike said he was surprised that legislators continue to be detained at a time their respective parliamentary committees are sitting. “They enjoy immunity from arrest under the Constitution,” he said. Section 60(1) of the Constitution provides that MPs are privileged from arrest, except in cases of treason, while going to, returning from or within the precincts of the National Assembly. Chimtembo confirmed the arrests of Gwengwe and Kawale, saying the two are expected to appear in court today, but declined to comment on the constitutional immunity cited by Parliament.

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