Mayor for Lilongwe City Council Desmond Bikoko says he has quit frontline politics but remains a DPP loyalist. In an exclusive interview with Nation Online, Bikoko who on Thursday withdrew from DPP primaries in Zomba Malosa, said he will focus his energy on supporting DPP from the background without seeking any position. While admitting that…
Police in Lilongwe have arrested UTM director of youth Bon Kalindo for alleged disorderly conduct and insulting the president allegedly at Balaka Police Station where 2 aides of Vice President Saulos Chilima were detained last weekend, Nation Police Spokesperson James Kadadzera has confirmed. According to Kadadzera Kalindo has been charged with two offences; disorderly conduct…
An aggrieved Indian community in Lilongwe has ganged up demanding justice over a gruesome murder of 35 –year old Zaheera Jabbar Akbanie, a mother of three, who was allegedly killed by her own husband last month. Suspect Shaheen Gumrha (41) is currently under police custody awaiting trial on allegations that he brutally killed his wife…
As the Judiciary admits that some of its judicial officers may be embroiled in corrupt practices, a prominent legal expert has proposed that tough new guidelines be introduced to crack the whip on the errant officers. The proposal, that may give teeth to what some deem as a ‘dormant’ Judicial Service Committee (JSC), is one…
Government buys five new cars for ministers He promised to cut expenses associated with the government’s vehicle fleet by reducing the number of cars and maintenance costs, among other measures. But instead, Finance, Economic Planning and Development Minister Goodall Gondwe has bought five new top-of-the-range Toyota Land Cruisers (Prado VXL) for some of his Cabinet…
Despite the law prohibiting employees of a procuring and disposing public entity from bidding for its auctioned assets, Secretary for Health Dan Namalika and other officials have bought cars from their ministry in a public auction which Finance Minister Goodall Gondwe has described as illegal. According to our findings, Namalika has bought himself two vehicles—a…
Debate on the repeated question of Mzimba’s sovereignty refuses to die. Each time it is raised, the subject rarely generates a serious national discussion and it often does not catch government’s attention. Whilegovernment feels politically safe not to handle the issue openly, such inactionis at times mistaken for consent. And the recent decision by Capital…
The newly introduced K5 billion Youth Internship Programme (YIP) targeting graduates and non-graduates is mired in hiccups, including lack of work for the interns and limited resources, Nation on Sunday has established. A Nation two-week enquiry, which took us to different ministries, departments and agencies (MDAs), as well as random interviews with the interns and…
Minister of Information and Communications Technology Henry Mussa’s brand-new official Toyota Prado VXL, worth about K115 million at Toyota Malawi, has been burnt down to ashes following a fire which gutted part of his Area 10 residence in Lilongwe. In an interview yesterday, Mussa from Blantyre said the vehicle had just been delivered to…
The Agricultural Transformation Initiative(ATI), under the Foundation for Smoke-Free World has pledged support to all farmers in Malawi willing to diversify their economic livelihood away from tobacco with an aim of creating a smoke-free generation. President of the Foundation, Derek Yach was speaking on Monday in Mchinji where he presented a grant amounting to K18…
The Agricultural Transformation Initiative, under the Foundation for Smoke-Free World has pledged support to all farmers in Malawi willing to diversify their economic livelihood away from tobacco with an aim of creating a smoking free generation. President of the Foundation, Derek Yach was speaking on Monday in Mchinji where he presented a grant amount to…
The Greenbelt Authority (GBA) has found itself in a collision course with hundreds of farming families in some parts of the country who are accusing the government initiative of encroachment and land grabbing. In some cases, aggrieved farmers are seeking legal intervention to halt greenbelt-related activities in their areas. Nation on Sunday has learnt that…
The Ministry of Local Government and Rural Development has written the Catholic Commission for Justice and Peace (CCJP) expressing disappointment for releasing a draft report critical of local councils without consulting the ministry. About three weeks ago, the Episcopal Conference of Malawi (ECM) and CCJP released a report titled “Investigation and compilation of issues…
People who cannot afford expensive specialised bone and nerve surgeries will soon access such services for free courtesy a K17 billion (about $24 million) grant to construct of a modern clinic in Lilongwe. The Lilongwe Institute of Orthopedics and Neurosurgery (Lions) Clinic will be constructed at Kamuzu Central Hospital (KCH) and is expected to provide…
Without stating reasons, government has recalled four Malawian diplomats at the South African Embassy, including the High Commissioner. They have been given seven days each to pack and return home, a development some have questioned as strange. The recall of the four leaves the embassy with only two diplomatic staff since it was an office…
Government and interested non-government organisations have stopped implementation of land-related projects in Mzimba over unresolved Mzimba Heritage Association (Mziha) demands, Nation on Sunday can reveal. With support from development partners, government identified Mzimba as one of eight districts to pilot implementation of five inter-related new land laws before rolling out nationwide. But Mzimba Mziha, which…
The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) and the World Food Programme (WFP) have raised alarm over the plight of at least 35 000 refugees and asylum seekers in Malawi if K3 billion ($4.2 million) for food assistance is not found. In a joint statement released last Friday, the two UN agencies warned of…
Over 35,000 refugees in Malawi risk starvation from January next year if the international community does not respond to the call for support, the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) and the United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) has warned. In a joint statement released on Friday and made available to Nation Online the…
Former Flames coach Kinnah Phiri has distanced himself from any links to Vice President Saulos Chilima’s United Transformation Movement (UTM) saying he remains a member of the ruling Democratic Progressive Party (DPP), despite speaking at a UTM rally in Mzuzu last August. Speaking in an interview with Nation Online, Phiri said his invitation to speak…
Government has for over five years ignored recommendations of commissions of inquiry, a situation analysts say is a waste of public resources and a mockery of justice. A Nation on Sunday analysis of three commissions of inquiry conducted between 2011 and 2013 show a general lack of interest from government to put to use recommendations…