Police yesterday arrested former Secretary to the President and Cabinet (SPC) Colleen Zamba on fresh abuse of office allegations and former Minister of Agriculture Sam Kawale on charges yet to be disclosed.
The duo’s separate arrests came hours after the arrest of former Cabinet minister also in the Malawi Congress Party (MCP) administration, Sosten Gwengwe.
Zamba handed herself over to National Police Headquarters in Area 30, Lilongwe after officers had failed to find her at her home on Sunday, according to her lawyer George Kadzipatike.
She was later transferred to Kanengo Police Station and denied police bail.
Kadzipatike said the fresh arrest is not related to the December 2025 case in which Zamba was accused of recruiting about 300 people into the public service without following procedures.
“We have not been given particulars of the new offence, only that it is an abuse of office allegation. It is a different matter altogether,” he said, accusing police of abusing their arresting powers.
Zamba, who served as SPC between 2022 and 2025, is currently on court bail in the earlier case.
National Police spokesperson Lael Chimtembo confirmed the arrest but declined to disclose details, saying police would communicate the charges later.
Both Gwengwe and Kawale are serving members of Parliament (MPs) and Kadzipatike, himself a legislator for Dowa Kasangadzi Constituency, accused the police of violating parliamentary privileges provisions.
Gwengwe chairs the Budget and Finance Committee of Parliament while Kawale is a member of the Transport, Land and Public Infrastructure Committee. Both committees are scheduled to meet this week, according to a schedule of parliamentary committee meetings.
In a January 19 2026 letter to Inspector General of Police, Clerk of Parliament Fiona Kalemba requested for the release of former Information minister Moses Kunkuyu, stressing that committee meetings form part of the official business of the National Assembly and that MPs’ attendance should not be impeded.
Yesterday, Kadzipatike said he was surprised that legislators continue to be detained at a time their respective parliamentary committees are sitting.
“They enjoy immunity from arrest under the Constitution,” he said.
Section 60(1) of the Constitution provides that MPs are privileged from arrest, except in cases of treason, while going to, returning from or within the precincts of the National Assembly.
Chimtembo confirmed the arrests of Gwengwe and Kawale, saying the two are expected to appear in court today, but declined to comment on the constitutional immunity cited by Parliament.
Commenting on MPs’ immunity in an earlier interview, lawyer Benedicto Kondowe said Section 60(1) of the Constitution provides that MPs are privileged from arrest only while going to, returning from or within the precincts of the National Assembly and for statements made in parliamentary proceedings. He said the provision “does not confer a blanket immunity from arrest for all criminal offences, nor does it shield members from accountability for conduct unrelated to parliamentary proceedings”.
On the other hand, University of Malawi professor of law Garton Kamchedzera is on record as having said that Kunkuyu was privileged from arrest while going to or returning from the National Assembly or if he is in the precincts of the National Assembly.
In a related development, Citizens for Justice and Equity chairperson Agape Khombe yesterday cautioned against vengeance in making arrests.
Briefing the media in Lilongwe, he said arrests should follow thorough investigations, further calling on the police to comply with the 48-hour rule of taking suspects to court to be informed of the charges against them.
Following the arrests of Kawale and Gwengwe, the number of former Cabinet ministers arrested under the current administration has reached seven. Others are Kabwila, Richard Chimwendo Banda, Moses Kunkuyu, Ezekiel Ching’oma, and Vitumbiko Mumba. The other five were later released on court bail.
