By Wezzie Gausi:
The Chief Resident Magistrate’s Court in Lilongwe has granted an injunction to former Minister of Finance and Leader of Opposition in Parliament Simplex Chithyola Banda, cancelling a warrant of arrest issued against him in a criminal matter.
The Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB) confirmed it had obtained the warrant from the Lilongwe Chief Resident Magistrate’s Court on 8 May 2026.
The ACB alleges that Chithyola Banda misused his office while serving as Minister of Finance by approving K29.4 billion in extra budgetary funding for the Mega Farms Project without justification, benefiting the Greenbelt Authority.
In an order dated May 11, 2026, Chief Resident Magistrate Austin Banda ruled that the proceedings should proceed by way of summons rather than arrest.
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“The warrant of arrest issued against the accused person herein is hereby cancelled and set aside,” the order reads.
In an affidavit supporting the application, lawyer George Jivason Kadzipatike argued that it was unreasonable for the State to pursue repeated arrests when Chithyola Banda was already on bail in another matter and complying with its conditions.
The court also ruled that the bail conditions in Criminal Case Number 323 of 2026 in the Principal Resident Magistrate’s Court sitting in Lilongwe will apply to the current case.
The other case in which Chithyola Banda was arrested concerns a fertiliser deal, where he was charged with abuse of office and money laundering over a fertiliser transaction involving the Smallholder Farmers Fertiliser Revolving Fund of Malawi and East Bridge Romania Co Ltd.
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Investigators allege that while serving as Minister of Finance, he authorised a fertiliser for commodities arrangement where government linked funds were used in a deal that allegedly led to losses after fertiliser was not delivered.
Meanwhile, the court has warned that failure to comply with the latest order may amount to contempt.
