President Dr Lazarus McCathy Chakwera has returned home this afternoon from Europe and West Africa to face a political storm as Vice President Saulos Chilima faces unprecedented calls to resign after his name was mentioned in a court in London as having benefitted from corruption looting.
The President landed at Kamuzu International Airport in LiLongwe amid jubilation from Tonse Alliance supporters as the president’s name has not been mentioned in a court in London as among the beneficiaries of the suspected corruption kingpin Zuneth Sattar.
Vice President Chilima has refused to comment on the matter, saying he was allowing “the process to take its course.”
This comes barely a month after a citizen reported UTM to the graft busting body, the Anti-corruption Bureau (ACB) after the party bought 44 new vehicles.
Unconfirmed reports indicate that Chilima received money amounting to over K800 million from Sattar to influence the processing of payment from Government for one of Sattar’s companies.
Some section of society have been calling for President Chakwera to ask Chilima to step aside to let an investigation take place.
The State President in Malawi has no powers to fire the Vice President but Chilima is likely to be at Kamuzu International Airport to welcome his boss.
President Dr Chakwera also comes barely a day after UDF President Atupele Muluzi unceremoniously resigned from his position, saying he wants to concentrate on his businesses.
Some analysts say the sudden quitting of Muluzi on the political stage would greatly affect the strength of the opposition both inside and outside parliament.