Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) vice-president (North) Jappie Mhango is expected to be taken to court today after spending a night at Mzuzu Police Station over a government house procurement transaction.
The Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB) yesterday arrested Mhango in Mzuzu for allegedly buying a government house at below market rates when he was minister of Transport and Public Works in the DPP administration.
ACB spokesperson Egrita Ndala said in a statement that Mhango’s arrest relates to suspected misuse of office through a transaction undertaken between 2016 and 2017 when he served as minister.
She said the purported misuse was for the advantage of Cuthbert Mhango and 11 others when the then minister arbitrarily authorised the sale of a house belonging to the ministry at under-valued price of K2.95 million, leading to loss of government revenue.
Reads the ACB statement: “It is further alleged that on 11th April 2022, at the Anti-Corruption Bureau offices in Mzuzu, he [Mhango] provided false information to bureau officers by stating that he does not know the landlord of the house which is rented by his second wife, Miss Thokozile Wanda, at Chimaliro in Mzuzu City, while in fact the said house was bought from Ministry of Transport and Public Works at the time he was the responsible minister and it is owned by his direct relative by the name of Cuthbert Mhango.”
In an interview yesterday, ACB acting director General Hilary Chilomba said the matter relates to just one house in Chimaliro in Mzuzu.
Mhango’s lawyer Charles Lupande said they were only told of one house, but said ACB were yet to caution his client.
He said: “He hasn’t been cautioned yet, they have taken him to Mzuzu Police Station. We are told that investigators are not on the ground, they are out for other duties.
“As such, they took him to Mzuzu Police Station and the indication is that most likely, they will take him to court on Tuesday [today].”
However, there were chaotic scenes at Mzuzu Police Station yesterday as some DPP supporters went to cheer Mhango, who is also Rumphi North legislator.
Mhango was first appointed Deputy Minister of Defence in June 2014 by former president Peter Mutharika.
He later served as Minister of Information, Minister of Home Affairs, Minister of Transport as well as Minister of Health.
Currently, he is also Malawi Olympic Committee president and in February he was appointed into the Confederation of African Volleyball board of administration presidential advisory council for the period of 2025-2028.
Before becoming vice-president (North), Mhango was DPP treasurer general. He became a member of Parliament for Rumphi North in 2014 and retained the seat in 2019.
