Malawi President Lazarus Chakwera Fires Minister Over COVID-19 Funds

Image: TRT World

Faizel Patel – 20/04/2021

Malawi President Lazarus Chakwera has fired Labour Minister Ken Kandodo for diverting $800 worth of COVID-19 funds to pay for a government trip, part of a wider embezzlement scandal.

In a televised address to the nation, Chakwera says the minister was named in an audit report as having listed the funds in his allowances for the travel to South Africa.

“I have dropped him from my cabinet accordingly. Even though the minister has since returned the money, his usage of the funds means that the money was unavailable for its intended purpose when it was needed most.”

AFP reports that Chakwera also ordered the arrest of scores of civil servants implicated in plundering $7.8 million of COVID-19 funds.

Malawi, one of the world’s poorest countries, has recorded 34,000 cases of COVID-19, with 1,138 deaths, including those of two cabinet ministers.

Its under-resourced public hospitals were overwhelmed at the peak of the pandemic.

Abandoned Refugees!

Rabia Mayet | rabiamayet@radioislam.co.za 18 June 2026 2-minute read As documented refugees line the streets in Durban, forced to live and sleep outside the Home Affairs office, concerns have been raised by over 130 community civic organizations, trade unions and...

50 Years On

Rabia Mayet | rabiamayet@radioislam.co.za 16 June 2026 3-minute read 50 years since the Soweto uprising, when thousands of schoolchildren took to the streets to protest Bantu education and the imposition of Afrikaans as a medium of learning, questions on whether the...

Iran-US Deal

Rabia Mayet | rabiamayet@radioislam.co.za 15 June 2026 2-minute read Diplomatic efforts between Iran and the US have culminated in a “done deal” barring Israel spoiling it, with both Iran and the US agreeing to the Memorandum of Understanding which will be signed on...

Middle East Report

12 June 2026 | 12:25 CAT 2-minute read Iran-US Negotiations Possible; Deep Disputes Remain During this week’s Middle East Report, analyst James Dorsey examined the latest signals of shifting tensions between the United States and Iran, as reports of renewed diplomatic...

UUCSA Engages Political Parties on Muslim Civic Consensus

10 June 2026 | 21:53 CAT 2-minute read The United Ulama Council of South Africa (UUCSA) convened a Municipal Elections Indaba in Ormonde, Johannesburg. The three-day event, which concluded earlier today, was hosted by the UUCSA Political Strategy Committee to...

Ramaphosa’s immigration plan faces criticism over leadership gap

9 June 2026 | 11:35 CAT 4-minute read Immigration address indicates response, not leadership President Cyril Ramaphosa's address to the nation on immigration and rising tensions targeting foreign nationals has drawn both praise and criticism. The president outlined a...