Mutharika takes fresh aim at embezzlers

More heads are expected to roll as Malawi's President Bingu wa Mutharika pushes ahead with his campaign to rid the country of high-level corruption, analysts said on Friday. On Thursday the mayor of the commercial capital, Blantyre, was arrested in connection with the disappearance of Kwacha 400,000 (US $3,782) from the city's coffers. John Chikakwiya is said to have solicited the money from the Grain and Milling Company for the rehabilitation of roads, but the funds cannot be accounted for. He is expected to appear in court on charges of theft by a public servant. At least seven senior members of the ruling United Democratic Front (UDF) are under investigation regarding the disappearance of government funds. Attorney-General Ralph Kasambara told IRIN the state would continue pursuing corrupt officials, but would ensure that there was "solid evidence" against the accused before legal action was taken. "The president has the public's support for these measures and, from reading the media reports, Malawians are equally tired of corrupt officials," Kasambara said. Mutharika's zero-tolerance campaign against corruption has alarmed some UDF party stalwarts, who have already started accusing the new president of political witch hunting. "This is just the tip of the iceberg. In coming months we are likely to see the arrests of many more UDF officials, who, I suspect, will be charged with the embezzlement of far greater amounts of kwacha. Under the previous government the corrupt activities of officials were almost tolerated, but the tide is turning," Boniface Dulani, a political science lecturer at the University of Malawi, told IRIN. "It's no secret that the former president [Bakili Muluzi] has the backing of UDF heavyweights, but I don't think that Mutharika has deliberately gone after Muluzi's allies. Mutharika's anti-corruption drive is more about showing donors that he can run a clean government, and less about political witch hunting," Dulani added. Chikakwiya is expected to appear in court on Monday.