Former Malawi Minister of Information Henry Mussa says a government-owned genset, which he is accused of stealing, was dropped at his house without his knowledge.
Mussa and former Director of Information in the Ministry of Information Gideon Munthali are being accused of stealing a generator and nine computers which were donated to the Ministry of Information by Malawi Communications Regulatory Aut0rity (MACRA) in 2019.
Giving his testimony in court in yesterday, Mussa denied in court the accusation that he stole the genset,saying as a minister, he was not responsible for the distribution of the said items.
According to Mussa, he remembered to have been told by one of his workers that former director of information in the Ministry, Gedion Munthali, brought the genset to his house but he could not figure out the reason it was dropped off at his house because he was busy with general elections at that time.
“I only remembered about the genset issue when I was called by Police, asking me the whereabouts of the genset that was supposed to be a government asset,” Mussa said.
He further told the court that as someone who was a minister, he could not steal the said item because it was possible for him to just request the Malawi Communications Regulatory Authority, the government institution that bought the items, to directly buy the items for him, if he wanted them.
The matter has since adjourned to 12 of November.
The arrest of Henry Mussa last year was the latest since President Lazarus Chakwera came to power promising to eradicate corruption that flourished under former President Peter Mutharika.
