The Malawi Police Service has initiated a major reorganization of its traffic operations by ordering the immediate withdrawal of all officers serving as traffic aides, according to Nyasa Times and Nation Online. The directive requires the affected officers to return to general duties following national outrage over a viral video that showed an officer accepting a K20,000 bribe in Blantyre.
Update: The Anti-Corruption Bureau has summoned National Oil Company of Malawi (NOCMA) Chief Executive Officer Emmanuel Matapa for questioning regarding a fraudulent $403,605 transfer made to scammers impersonating a Mozambican port handling firm. Channel Africa, Malawi24, and Nyasa Times report that police have also detained NOCMA Deputy CEO Miklas Reuben and Senior Operations Manager Thokozani Jacob Sesani in connection with the missing K700 million. Investigators are currently tracing the transaction flow as they prepare the executives for court.
In Mzimba, police at the Embangweni unit arrested two Export and Trading Company employees on August 29 for the alleged theft of K29.9 million, according to Power Online News. A branch manageress and a staff worker were taken into custody after an audit revealed the missing funds, which the suspects claimed were handed over to a man posing as an internal auditor from the company's Lilongwe headquarters.
Meanwhile, Rumphi Police apprehended four men on August 29 who were caught extracting underground copper cables belonging to Malawi Telecommunications Limited, TWR Malawi reports. The suspects were reportedly disguised in the telecommunications company's uniforms while digging up the infrastructure along the Rumphi-Bolero road.
Update: Four former and current Malawi Electoral Commission officials, including former Chief Elections Officer Andrew Mpesi, have been released on bail by the Lilongwe Magistrate's Court after being charged with misuse of public funds, according to The Daily Times. In a separate judicial matter, Nyasa Times reports that a 36-year-old soldier based at Kamuzu Barracks was convicted on August 28 of defiling a 15-year-old girl, with sentencing scheduled for Tuesday.