Former Malawi Broadcasting Corporation (MBC) Director General George Kasakula and former Director of Finance Jackson Kamwachale have been granted bail after spending two nights in police custody. According to Nation Online and The Maravi Post, Blantyre Senior Resident Magistrate Assunta Maxwell formally charged the two former executives with three counts, including abuse of office and conspiracy to defraud.
The charges stem from a Fiscal Police investigation into suspected financial mismanagement at the public broadcaster between 2021 and 2025. Face of Malawi reports that the allegations involve an unauthorised payment to a Lilongwe hotel and the procurement of an outside broadcasting vehicle from Italy. National Police spokesperson Lael Chimtembo confirmed the probe to Nyasa Times, adding that investigators are also looking into unpaid advertisements.
Under the bail conditions, the court ordered Kasakula and Kamwachale to pay a K350,000 cash bond and provide a K2 million non-cash surety. Nation Online notes that the accused must surrender their travel documents and report to the police every two weeks. Kasakula's arrest follows his dismissal by the MBC board several weeks prior over accusations of gross misconduct and politicising the State-owned media institution.
Update: The Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB) has officially reopened its investigation into the K128.7 billion Amaryllis Hotel purchase and issued a fresh freeze order to halt the transaction. Appearing before the Public Accounts Committee (PAC), ACB Acting Director General Gabriel Chembezi initially defended the bureau's past clearance of the Public Service Pension Trust Fund deal. However, Chembezi then informed lawmakers that the probe is now back open and payments are paused due to new evidence emerging from the ongoing parliamentary inquiry.