Zamba, ex-ministers linked to K200bn scandal—Police

Police have said the arrests of two former Cabinet ministers and ex-Secretary to the President and Cabinet Colleen Zamba this week are linked to the controversial K200 billion East Bridge fertiliser supply and produce deals. National Police spokesperson Lael Chimtembo said in a statement yesterday that Zamba alongside former ministers Sam Kawale and Sosten Gwengwe were being investigated for suspected abuse of office, fraud other than false pretence and money laundering linked to contracts awarded to East Bridge involving fertiliser, soya beans and tobacco. “The Malawi Police Service, working jointly with the Anti-Corruption Bureau [ACB], has arrested three former senior government officials in connection with investigations into contracts awarded to East Bridge,” he said.

Chimtembo said the investigations were ongoing, adding that further details will be communicated in due course. Gwengwe, who at the time of the deal served as Minister of Finance in former president Lazarus Chakwera’s Cabinet, was arrested on Sunday while former Minister of Agriculture Kawale and Zamba were detained on Monday upon reporting to National Police Headquarters in Lilongwe. Malawi Congress Party (MCP) legal adviser George Kadzipatike, who is representing the trio, yesterday confirmed that police have now specified the charges and recorded statements from the three.

He said the matter is now expected to proceed to court. Under the deal, East Bridge, described as a Romanian firm, was expected to supply 300 000 metric tonnes of fertiliser to the State-owned Smallholder Farmers Fertiliser Revolving Fund of Malawi, with government providing farm produce in exchange. Meanwhile, MCP spokesperson Jessie Kabwila has alleged that the arrests were part of a wider crackdown targeting about 150 MCP members and mostly former senior government officials.

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“Even if they arrest 200 or more, MCP will always be intact. Our members are following what is happening and this is only making the party stronger,” she said, claiming that the arrests stand to consolidate support for the party that lost the September 16 2025 General Election ahead of the next vote in 2030. Kabwila also accused the government of disregarding the rule of law, claiming some arrests have been made without proper charges and in violation of parliamentary processes. But National Advocacy Platform chairperson Benedicto Kondowe is on record as having said Section 60(1) of the Constitution does not grant members of Parliament blanket immunity from arrest when Parliament or its committees are sitting.

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