By Staff Reporter
The Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB) has launched a decisive crackdown on suspects implicated in the staggering K36.7 billion fraud at the Greenbelt Authority (GBA), announcing plans to seize properties believed to be proceeds of crime in one of Malawi’s biggest public sector corruption cases.
In a statement issued on Friday, ACB Acting Director General Gabriel Chembezi confirmed that the Bureau will initiate civil asset forfeiture proceedings targeting assets linked to the suspects, all of whom have now been formally charged and released on bail.
Chembezi said the Bureau’s investigations have reached a critical stage, adding that the seizure of assets is aimed at preventing suspects from benefiting from illicitly acquired wealth as the criminal process unfolds.
Those arrested read like a who’s who of GBA’s top management and its private sector partners. They include GBA Chief Executive Officer Eric Chidzungu, Director of Irrigation Operations Chisomo Kumbuyo, Irrigation Engineer Chester Chikwere, Director of Finance and Investments Linda Phiri, Procurement and Assets Disposal Manager Masautso Kamowa, and Infrastructure Development Manager Synoden Kautsi.
Also charged are Managing Director of Kabiki and Partners Engineering Services Innocent Kawinuwinu; PLMB Engineering Investment Managing Directors Stanley Bakolo and Victor Chabwera; EMD Consulting Engineers Managing Director Ephrone Mwenitete; and Einstein Construction Limited Managing Director Kenneth Khonje.
According to the ACB, the suspects are accused of orchestrating a scheme in which GBA awarded lucrative contracts to selected private contractors and authorised dubious advance payments totalling K36.7 billion—long before any meaningful work was done on the ground.
Investigators allege that the funds, intended for the construction and rehabilitation of four major irrigation schemes, were instead diverted for political campaign financing, while some GBA officials allegedly pocketed kickbacks.
The affected irrigation schemes are Nthola Ilora in Karonga, Lweya in Nkhata-Bay, Mlambe in Mangochi, and Nchalo in Chikwawa—projects that were supposed to boost food security, improve livelihoods and reduce Malawi’s dependence on rain-fed agriculture.
The investigation was triggered by a complaint received by the ACB on November 10, 2025, but Chembezi disclosed that further probes established the full scale of the alleged fraud, confirming that the advance payments alone amounted to the full K36.7 billion.
The scandal has reignited public anger over entrenched corruption in parastatals, particularly at a time when ordinary Malawians are grappling with food shortages, rising prices and shrinking public services.
As the ACB tightens the noose through asset seizures, the case is shaping up as a critical test of the country’s commitment to accountability—one that could determine whether high-level corruption finally attracts consequences beyond arrest and bail.
