No govt official aided Mphwiyo to escape – police

Malawi Police Service has refuted rumours making rounds in the country implicating senior government officials in the escape of Cashgate suspect Paul Mphwiyo.

For the past few days, social media has been awash with unverified information about how Mphwiyo bolted the country.

This is happening at a time the High Court is expected to give its judgement in the K2.4 billion Cashgate case in which Mphwiyo and 17 others are about to know their fate.

Senior officials at the National Police Headquarters in Area 30 in Lilongwe confided in us on Thursday that their leads on how Mphwiyo left the country do not implicate any government official, thus far.

This corroborates what police publicist, Paul Kalaya, told the nation a few days ago that Mphwiyo was last seen in Blantyre leaving Ryalls Hotel just a few hours after checking in.

From the secret camera recordings, he left as if he was taking a casual stroll in the Central Business District.

The impeccable sources within the Police say Mphwiyo was cautious and used common people to plan his escape.

“Unlike what others are parading in the public discourse, Mphwiyo never used the legally sanctioned documents or routes. That tells you that he did not even pass through any border as others are putting it. His escape is purely through uncharted routes that we know of. Investigations are ongoing so we cannot divulge all information at this stage,” said our source.

The new information throws into the fabrications that a senior government official helped Mphwiyo acquire a new passport at the Immigration Department.

Immigration officials also say their system shows that no passport was issued under Mphwiyo’s name and that he never passed through the Mwanza-Zobue Border or any of their facilities.

Meanwhile, police have intensified investigations to get to the bottom of the matter.