Malawi arrests former leader Muluzi for graft

BLANTYRE, Thursday

Malawi has arrested former President Bakili Muluzi on charges of stealing $11 million in donor money, the country's Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB) said on Thursday.

"We have re-arrested him and charged him with 87 counts on allegations of siphoning over $11 million of donor money into his private account. He will appear in court today (Thursday)," ACB Director Alex Nampota told reporters.

The bureau has been investigating Muluzi -- president of the southern African country for 10 years until 2004 -- for the past two years for allegedly siphoning money from Taiwan, Morocco, Libya and other donors.

Muluzi, who stepped down in 2004 after unsuccessfully trying to change the constitution to allow him to stand again, denies any wrongdoing.

Muluzi, hailed as a hero in 1994 for removing late dictator Kamuzu Banda, announced a comeback last year and plans to contest elections in May.

He remains popular in his home region in the southern part of the country. Muluzi was detained last year on suspicion of being involved in a coup plot. The charges were later dropped. (Reuters)