President suspends ant-corruption chief over fraud

Malawian president's office said on Monday that President Bingu wa Mutharika has suspended the country's anti-corruption chief over allegations of misuse of public funds.

The opposition has pushed to get Tumalisye Ndovi sacked after a newspaper reported he was drawing salaries from two government departments.

"I am under instructions from the President to interdict the director of ACB (Anti-Corruption Bureau) for alleged mismanagement of public funds which, if proven, is a serious misconduct in terms of government regulations," Thouse O'dalla, deputy chief secretary in the office of the president, told Reuters.

O'dalla said Ndovi allegedly received a salary from the anti-corruption bureau and the Malawi Police Service, where he served as police commissioner.

"All this is against the conditions of service in government. As per his appointment letter, Ndovi as director is entitled to a salary and house allowance at ACB," O'dalla said.
Ndovi said the allegations were inaccurate.

"It's true that I have been getting two salaries, one from the Anti-Corruption Bureau and another one from the Malawi Police Service," he told Reuters.

"But it's not true that I have been drawing the police service salary, it's still in my bank, untouched."

Wa Mutharika appointed Ndovi in 2006 but his opponents, who dominate parliament, rejected the decision, accusing the president of naming a close ally.

Wa Mutharika accused the parliament of trying to undermine his anti-corruption drive.

Wa Mutharika has been under intense pressure from his opponents in parliament, who ended a boycott of the assembly on August 15 after a long political row that stalled debate of the national budget and threatened to cut off essential services.

Last week, opposition members of parliament refused to debate a budget vote on ACB funding until Wa Mutharika acted on Ndovi's alleged misconduct.