By Burnett Munthali
A 47-year-old Malawian national, Allan Gondwe, has been arrested and detained in Ethiopia for allegedly attempting to traffic cocaine from Malawi to Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, in an international drug-smuggling operation.
Gondwe was apprehended by Ethiopian security officials at Bole International Airport in Addis Ababa on October 20, 2026, while travelling to Malaysia through Ethiopia.
According to a diplomatic report submitted by Malawi’s Ambassador to Ethiopia, Khwauli Msiska, the suspected cocaine was allegedly concealed inside portraits belonging to the Malawian traveller.
In a report dated October 28, 2026, Msiska informed Malawi’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation that Gondwe was facing drug-smuggling charges under Criminal Code No. 414/2004 of the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia.
The diplomatic communication indicated that Gondwe had travelled from Kamuzu International Airport in Lilongwe aboard Ethiopian Airlines flight ET876, with Kuala Lumpur as his intended destination.
His travel documents identified him as a Malawian passport holder, while his personal particulars indicated that he was born on June 24, 1979, in Dedza District.
Malawi’s Embassy in Ethiopia has since established contact with the detained national, with embassy counsellor Dickson Chivwati Gondwe confirming that diplomatic officials had managed to visit him despite restrictions governing physical access to detainees in Ethiopian custody.
The arrest has also raised concerns among his relatives, with his brother, Gift Gondwe, reportedly approaching the Malawian Embassy after losing contact with him, while the case has renewed attention on another Malawian, Anne Muhammad, who was arrested at the same airport in connection with cocaine possession while travelling to Qatar and sentenced to five years in prison in 2023.
