A Malawian court has dropped corruption charges against Vice President Saulos Chilima after prosecutors asked for the case to be dropped.
The decision was not given reasons.
Dr. Chilima was arrested in November 2022 on allegations that he accepted money in exchange for awarding government contracts. He denied the allegations.
The latest move has raised questions about the government’s approach to prosecuting suspected corruption.
The vice president’s arrest followed allegations that he received money to influence the awarding of contracts to Xaviar Ltd and Malachitte FZE, two companies linked to British businessman Zuneth Sattar.
Mr. Sattar also denied any wrongdoing.
The vice president has appeared in court several times since his arrest, although the actual trial never began.
On Monday, presiding judge Redson Kapindu ordered his immediate dismissal, citing an application made last Friday by the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) seeking “discontinuation of charges against the defendant on three counts of corrupt transactions.” .
The DPP now has ten days to formally inform Parliament of the reasons that led to the decision to drop the charges against the vice president, as required by the constitution, the judge said.
The lawyer for Dr. Chilima, Khumbo Soko, expressed relief at the decision to drop the charges.
“At the moment we do not know the reasons for the suspension, suffice it to say that only Parliament has the mandate to know,” Reuters news agency quoted him as saying.
Critics of Malawian President Lazarus Chakwera see the development as further evidence of his difficulties in combating alleged corruption.
President Chakwera has made tackling corruption one of his key election promises in 2020 and has repeatedly praised his government’s determination to end corruption in public speeches.
When dozens more high-ranking officials, including the vice president, were named in a corruption scandal, the president fired several of the named officials.
Under Malawian law, the president cannot dismiss the vice president.
However, the president publicly announced that he would no longer assign him any official duties during his trial.
The promise didn’t last long and the president had already begun assigning official duties to his vice president even before the proceedings were halted on Monday.
This has led critics to believe that the president was involved in the decision to open the case against Dr. Hiring Chilima was involved.
However, Information Minister Moses Kunkuyu said the decision to drop the charges was made in accordance with the law.
More BBC stories about Malawi:
Go to BBCAfrica.com for more news from the African continent.
Follow us on Twitter @BBCAfricaon Facebook at BBC Africa or on Instagram at bbcafrica
BBC Africa Podcasts