By Chisomo Phiri
Vice President Michael Usi, who is also the leader of the Odya Zake Alibe Mlandu party, says he cannot apologize for his allegations that there are corrupt leaders in the current government despite pressure to provide proof.
Speaking during a political rally he held at Nyambadwe Primary School Ground in Blantyre on Monday, Usi said the current government is failing to make things happen because its top officials are corrupt.
The remarks prompted Malawi Congress Party (MCP) spokesperson Jessie Kabwila to organize a press briefing in Lilongwe on Tuesday challenging Usi to present evidence to the Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB) to substantiate his claims.
Kabwila warned that if Usi fails to do so, he should resign from his position for making baseless accusations against a government from which he benefits.
However, responding to Kabwila at a political rally in Ulongwe, Balaka, on the same day, Usi said he knows the identities of those involved in corruption but is hesitant to name them publicly out of fear of legal repercussions.
He questioned why prosecutors and law enforcement agencies have been unable to identify and apprehend these corrupt individuals despite ongoing investigations.
“Why don’t the police and the ACB ask me to provide names so they can arrest these people?.Those responsible for law enforcement should find me, and I will tell them who is involved in corruption. I will not, however, throw names around recklessly without evidence,” said Usi.
Commenting on the matter, political analyst George Chaima emphasized the need for Malawians to come forward with evidence to assist the ACB in prosecuting all corrupt individuals.
The analyst acknowledged that while some critics claim the ACB currently lacks sufficient authority to effectively arrest suspects, this challenge is largely due to how the institution is being managed by its senior officials.
On July 20, 2024, President Lazarus Chakwera, who is also leader of the ruling MCP, appointed Usi as his vice president following the death of late Vice President Saulos Chilima, who tragically died in a plane crash alongside eight others in Chikangawa Forest in Mzimba on June 10, 2024.
At the time of his appointment, Usi was the vice-president of the late Chilima’s United Transformation Movement (UTM) party.
