The Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB) has arrested two employees from Greenbelt Authority (GBA) and three private contractors over alleged dubious advance payments worth K28 billion, Nation on Sunday can reveal.
The two employees, who were arrested in Lilongwe on Friday, are finance manager Linda Phiri and procurement manager Masautso Kamowa.
The private contractors, on the other hand, are Kenneth Khonje of Einstein Construction Company, Victor Chabwera of PLMB Engineering Investments and Ephrone Mwenitete of EMD Consulting Engineers.
The three were arrested yesterday in Blantyre.
But when contacted yesterday, ACB acting director general Gabriel Chembezi said he would revert to our request for comment.
However, our well-placed sources within ACB and police said Chabwera and Khonje were both being held at Blantyre Police Station while Mwenitete was at Chilomoni Police Station.
“They will be transferred to Lilongwe either on Sunday [today] or Monday,” explained our sources while indicating that more arrests are expected.
The sources said the arrests have been made following investigations the ACB has been pursuing after it received a complaint in November 2025 that the advance payments, made during the Malawi Congress Party (MCP) regime, were dubious.
The complaint, according to our sources, further alleged that the contracts to the private contractors were awarded under dubious circumstances, raising suspicions of maladministration and corruption.
While we could not independently verify the claims, Nation on Sunday did not find any procurement notices published on GBA’s website yesterday.
The Public Procurement Act stipulates that State entities should publish procurement notices in official digital platforms apart from the traditional press.
GBA spokesperson Sam Majamanda was yet to respond to our questionnaire sent to him on his known mobile number yesterday.
GBA was established in 2017 through an Act of Parliament, essentially to champion large-scale commercial irrigation farming in the country.
