Mphwiyo expected to solve cashgate puzzle
Ministry of Finance budget director Paul Mphwiyo, the man who is widely expected to solve the puzzle of the theft of billions of kwacha in public funds from Capital Hill, is back in town.
Mphwiyo returned home yesterday after spending about two and a half months in South Africa where he was being treated for gunshot wounds incurred on September 13 this year.
He arrived aboard a South African Airways (SAA) plane which touched down at the Kamuzu International Airport (KIA) at about 12.25pm.
Some passengers who were on the flight confided to The Nation that Mphwiyo was seated in the economy class.
Upon arrival, Mphwiyo was quickly whisked off to KIA’s VVIP section where Malawi Police Service (MPS) regional criminal investigations officer (Central) Dickson Makwinja briefly interrogated him.
The heavy police presence at the airport was characteristic of the arrival of a high profile visitor, but this particular one escaped the attention and camera lens of journalists waiting just outside the VVIP doors.
While the media waited for a glimpse of the most famous person since revelations of theft of billions of kwacha at Capital Hill, Mphwiyo managed to escape the journalists’ lens, but not sight.
A gold Toyota Corolla registration BR 6230 carrying Mphwiyo, his wife and a plain-clothed police officer left the airport through a gate used for catering and fire engine services, apparently to escape journalists.
A glance at Mphwiyo through the car’s windows showed a swollen left side of his face where bullets tore through his jaw when he was shot at the gate of his Area 43 home in Lilongwe.
Mphwiyo was accompanied by Deputy Inspector General of Police Nelson Bophani who heads a crimes investigations committee President Joyce Banda instituted.
Bophani denied that police accompanied Mphwiyo, saying: “Can’t he travel by himself?”
But in an interview later, National Police spokesperson Rhoda Manjolo said although Mphwiyo was not under arrest, he could be interviewed any time as investigations into his shooting were on going.
She said: “[Mphwiyo’s] health status looks okay so far, but the ones who can know better are health personnel.”
Manjolo said police had arranged security for Mphwiyo because his life could possibly still be under threat.
Mphwiyo is expected to be a key witness in the attempted murder cases against former minister of Justice and Constitutional Affairs Ralph Kasambara, businessperson Pika Manondo, Kasambara’s bodyguard Kenston Gani, Dauka Manondo, Robert Kadzuwa and Macdonald Kumwembe.
