PERSPECTIVE | Patrick Mwanza

From last week into the one that ended on Saturday, January 24th, the Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB) has been unusually visible, telling the country what it is doing and who it is pursuing. From this corner, there is no complaint about that. Malawians have a right to know. We also know some of the names involved and the nature of the alleged crimes.

Among the most serious cases is the one involving the alleged defrauding of the Greenbelt Authority (GBA) to the tune of MWK36.7 billion. Eleven suspects have now been formally charged under the Corrupt Practices Act and the Penal Code and are expected to stand trial on February 27, 2026. For now, they are out on bail.

Established in 2017, the GBA is a state-owned corporation created to promote large-scale commercial irrigation farming and reduce Malawi’s heavy dependence on rain-fed agriculture. It is, by any measure, a noble mission.

And it’s a mission rooted in urgency.

Malawi continues to struggle to feed its people. As recently as 2023–2024, the country faced critical levels of malnutrition. Between 34 and 35.5 percent of children under the age of five were chronically malnourished. They were stunted, unable to grow as expected. Acute malnutrition, or wasting, affected about 2.6 percent of children in the same age group.

When money meant to fight hunger is abused, the consequences are not abstract. They are visible in children who do not grow, bodies that weaken too early, and households that never quite recover. That is what makes the alleged abuse of GBA funds particularly offensive.

So yes, the public is beginning to see what the taxpayer-funded graft-busting agency is doing. But a word of caution is already circulating. Not everyone is comfortable with the level of detail the ACB is sharing.

The argument being made is this: by saying too much, too early, the Bureau risks helping suspects and their associates hide or destroy incriminating evidence. These critics care little about winning the court of public opinion. They want victory where it matters most and that is in the courtroom.

That concern has merit. Malawi has been here before. There have been moments when the public was convinced a corruption case was airtight, only to be disappointed later when prosecutions collapsed.

Political interference has often been blamed for those failures. The most recent and memorable example occurred under the Malawi Congress Party administration of President Lazarus Chakwera, when the President publicly threatened disciplinary action against then ACB Director Martha Chizuma.

Chizuma’s frustrations had been laid bare in an authorised recording of a phone conversation in which she spoke candidly about her inability to pursue certain corruption suspects. Her complaints centred on the conduct of the Director of Public Prosecutions, whose handling of some cases raised serious suspicion. At one point, the Minister of Justice had to step in to broker a truce between the two offices.

For many Malawians, the President’s threat against Chizuma undermined his own promise of zero tolerance for corruption. It reinforced a growing belief that eloquent speeches, even delivered in polished tones that sounded American to local ears, were no substitute for results. Accent alone was never going to win credibility, either at home or abroad. Outcomes mattered.

That history is why today’s cases carry such weight.

Malawians are not merely hoping for charges. They are hoping for convictions, and for sentences that reflect the gravity of the crimes. Too often, white-collar offences are treated with a softness that sends the wrong message. When punishment lacks sting, deterrence disappears.

The Forum has reported on vandalism targeting the Electricity Supply Corporation of Malawi (Escom), acts that directly undermine service delivery in a country that claims it wants to industrialise. In one story, Judge Viva Nyimba observed that people no longer fear jail.

That should trouble us all.

If there is no fear of consequences, people will continue to act as they please, forgetting local development, and by extension, national development. In this multiparty era, too many have come to believe they can get away with anything.

It’s therefore significant that, alongside criminal prosecutions, the ACB has announced plans to pursue civil asset forfeiture against properties suspected to be proceeds of crime. That, at least, suggests an understanding that corruption must hurt where it matters.

What Malawians want now is action that makes a difference to their daily struggles. Courts have already cautioned in other high-profile cases, particularly those involving senior MCP figures, not to arrest people for show, but to come armed with solid evidence.

The message is simple.

ACB, don’t posture. Take notes. Bring your strongest case. And let it be tested where it truly counts.

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Also Read: 11 accused in MWK36.7bn Greenbelt fraud to face trial February 27

Related: From bail to busts: A week that put Malawi’s justice system on the spot

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