LILONGWE-(MaraviPost)-Malawi Police Service (MPS) has declared embattled former budget director Paul Mphwiyo as a fugitive following a month after being declared missing.
They said the suspect may have fled the country in view of his protracted Cashgate case which now awaits judgment.
National Police Spokesperson Peter Kalaya told Nation online the law enforcers have, however, intensified their investigation in search for Mphwiyo who, along with other Cashgate suspects, is accused of defrauding the government of MK2.4 billion when he was budget director in 2012/13.
“We have suspicions that Mphwiyo might not be missing, but rather that he is on the run. While we are looking for him, and we are aware that he is answering criminal charges, there are chances that he might be on the run,” said Kalaya.
The police publicist however could not state if they have collaborated with Interpol now that they suspect that the former budget director may be a fugitive.
Mphwiyo was reported missing by his family on June 26, 2023, meaning today marks 37 days since his disappearance.
On June 21, just four days before he was reported missing, the Malawi Supreme Court of Appeal cleared the High Court to proceed with its judgment in his case which has been under trial for nine years.
The court is yet to set a date for judgment.
Last week, our sister paper Nation on Sunday reported that Mphwiyo kept his passport since 2015, contrary to his bail condition.
The High Court allowed him to use the passport to travel to South Africa for medical attention and hand it back to the State but he never did.
Police preliminary findings indicated that Mphwiyo left Lilongwe through Kamuzu International Airport (KIA) to Chileka International Airport, where he checked out and was last seen leaving Ryalls Hotel in Blantyre.
