State witness in the Department of Immigration recruitment scandal case, Daston Tasauka Manda, has named former First Lady Getrude Mutharika and other senior Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) officials as being masterminds of the illegal employment of immigration assistants during the Professor Arthur Peter Mutharika regime.
Others are DPP Publicity Secretary Nicholas Dausi, DPP Organizing Secretary Chimwemwe Chipungu and DPP Regional Governor for the South Charles Mchacha.
Manda made the revelations when he gave his testimony before the Blantyre Chief Resident Magistrate Court on Wednesday.
This is one of the high level cases involving DPP officials and their spouses and relatives.
The recruitment scandal at the Department of Immigration involves former Minister of Homeland Security and longtime best friend of Gertrude Mutharika, Cecelia Chazama, and five others.
According to Manda, who is a former principal human resources officer at the Department of Immigration and Citizenship Services, during the recruitment exercise of Immigration assistants in 2017, he received list of names from some DPP officials through former Immigration director general Masauko Medi for consideration.
He mentioned Chazama, former ministers Joseph Mwanamvekha, Japie Mhango, Francis Kasaila, Nicholas Dausi, Charles Mchacha and Paul Chibingu.
He further told the court that besides the DPP officials, through Medi, he also received list of names from State House, including from former First Lady Gertrude Mutharika and former presidential press Secretary Mgeme Kalirani.
Nepotism, tribalism, regionalism and corruption as some of the issues that angered Malawians during the DPP administration.