The Malawi Police Service deceived the nation when it asserted it had set an International Police (Interpol) alert on Paul Mphwiyo, who fled from Malawi just as the High Court was on the verge of making a decision regarding his alleged involvement in the 2013 multibillion-kwacha cashgate scandal.
There is no Interpol red alert on Mphwiyo, and since his company, East Bridge Estates Limited, received K33 billion from the Malawi Government last month (see our next article), he has been reported to be in Lilongwe.
Mphwiyo escaped in June 2023, and The Investigator Magazine followed his initial journey from Mangochi to South Africa, with an official State House vehicle utilised to assist him in avoiding roadblocks, which led him to Durban, South Africa.
He stayed at Southern Sun in Durban for a period before relocating back to Johannesburg.
The government made certain payments to East Bridge that allowed the fugitive to continue living abroad, including stays in Zambia and Mozambique to arrange for fertilizer shipments.
On the day the fertilizer was supplied by a Zambian company (not East Bridge, which has never imported fertiliser), two East Bridge directors were involved in a physical altercation over finances, and one was treated at Kamuzu Central Hospital.
Mphwiyo allegedly arrived at the same time the fertilizer entered Malawi around 22 January 2025. “He has been in Malawi staying with some friends in Area 43 and at times driving in a tinted vehicle. In fact, senior figures in the Malawi Police Service are shielding him,” said a high-ranking source.
Since our poster announced the story, Mphwiyo has not made any public appearances, and according to our initial source, he has left the country again via Mchinji.
A security expert noted that the Malawi Government’s handling of the issue demonstrates how significant Mphwiyo has become to the ruling Malawi Congress Party (MCP) under President Lazarus Chakwera, as the Police were reluctant to issue an Interpol alert. “Nowhere is Mphwiyo a wanted individual. The President’s reputation for protecting criminals in his administration, issuing passports to wrongdoers, and even dining with numerous fraudsters is well known. Forget Mphwiyo facing justice under Chakwera.”
