The United States has imposed an entry ban on four former senior Malawian officials due to corruption allegations.
Among those barred from entering the US are former police chief George Kainja, former solicitor general and secretary of justice Reyneck Matemba, former director of public procurement and disposal of assets John Suzi-Banda, and former police service attorney Mwabi Kaluba.
The State Department designated these individuals “as generally ineligible for entry into the United States, due to their involvement in significant corruption.”
Notably, Mr. Matemba also served as the immediate former head of the Malawi Anti-Corruption Bureau.
The ban extends to the spouses of the ex-officials as well. According to a statement released on Wednesday, these banned officials were implicated in abusing their public positions by accepting bribes and other incentives from a private businessperson.
This was allegedly in exchange for awarding a government procurement contract for the Malawi Police Service.
In addition to the US ban, the former officials are also facing charges in Malawi.
They were named on a list of more than 80 prominent Malawians accused by the anti-graft body of engaging in corrupt dealings with a British businessman, Zuneth Sattar. Despite the allegations, all four former officials and Mr. Sattar deny any wrongdoing.