Investigative journalist Gregory Gondwe, who uncovered the Malawian authorities’s deliberate buy of 32 armored automobiles from an organization implicated in corruption, is in hiding, fearing arrest by the navy.
In a narrative printed Monday, Gregory Gondwe, who works with Platform for Investigative Journalism, quoted unnamed navy officers saying the Malawi Protection Pressure paid a agency related to businessman Zuneth Sattar thousands and thousands of {dollars} for navy gear.
Sattar is going through allegations of corruption.
The story stated the transaction concerned a $4.98 million cost, a part of a virtually $20 million deal for the procurement of 32 armored personnel carriers for the Malawi Protection Pressure.
Utilizing leaked paperwork from the Malawi Protection Pressure, or MDF, Gondwe reported that the deal defeats the Malawi authorities’s dedication to combating corruption.
Sattar, who relies in the UK, is beneath scrutiny in Malawi for allegedly bribing Malawi Vice President Saulos Chilima in return for presidency contracts.
The Anti-Corruption Bureau arrested Chilima in 2022, main Malawian President Lazarus Chakwera to droop the powers of the vice chairman.
Malawi’s authorities has stated it has canceled all enterprise related to Sattar.
Gondwe informed VOA from an undisclosed location Friday that he has gone into hiding following a tip from navy sources about plans to arrest him.
“The MDF’s displeasure over these leaks is exactly why I ought to shield my supply in any respect prices, by making certain that I’m not referred to as to be questioned or arrested,” he stated.
That is the second time in three years Gondwe has confronted arrest for publishing a narrative in regards to the authorities’s dealings with Sattar.
In 2022, Malawi police arrested Gondwe and confiscated his cellphone and laptop computer for publishing leaked paperwork exposing one other secret authorities cope with Sattar.
Gondwe refused police calls for to reveal his sources and later was unconditionally launched after press freedom teams and the U.S. and British embassies in Malawi expressed concern over his arrest.
The Media Institute for Southern Africa in Malawi, or MISA-Malawi, stated in an announcement Thursday that the threats in opposition to Gondwe have a chilling impact on journalists.
A delegation from about 15 civil society organizations in Malawi held a closed-door assembly Thursday with Minister of Protection Harry Mkandawire at which they expressed concern about alleged intimidation of whistleblowers corresponding to Gondwe.
Benedicto Kondowe, chairperson for the Nationwide Advocacy Platform, informed reporters that the minister clarified two points.
“One being a affirmation that certainly a cost to the tune of $5 million plus was initiated [to Sattar’s company], however that cost has not been finalized,” Kondowe stated. “Because it stands now, that cost stays with the Reserve Financial institution of Malawi.”
The opposite clarification, Kondowe stated, was that the cost stems from a 2020 contract, cost for which had been delayed following investigations into Sattar.
Mkandawire and Lawyer Basic Thabo Chakaka Nyirenda informed native media that there are not any plans to arrest Gondwe over his story.
However Gondwe stated he can not belief them, citing the 2022 arrest of Anti-Corruption Bureau Director-Basic Martha Chizuma regardless of assurances from Malawi’s president to not punish her over a leaked audio scandal during which she accused the federal government of receiving kickbacks from Sattar.
“Given this precedent, it’s difficult to take at face worth the present assurances of the minister of protection and different authorities authorities,” Gondwe stated. “My expertise and commentary lead me to method their statements with warning and to proceed prioritizing my security.”
Gondwe is working along with his legal professionals and different organizations to map out his subsequent transfer.