Former MEC CEO Mpesi arrested

Former Malawi Electoral Commission (MEC) Chief Elections Officer Andrew Mpesi has been arrested as Fiscal Police investigate millions of kwacha in payments made by the electoral body.

Mpesi was summoned to Fiscal Police offices in Area 6, Lilongwe, alongside four other senior MEC officials as investigators intensified the probe.

His lawyer, Chrispine Ndalama, confirmed that the officials had been arrested and were expected to be taken into police custody.

The arrests follow an investigation into school fee payments allegedly made by MEC for Mpesi’s children after he had submitted his resignation.

Financial records cited in the allegations show that MEC paid K6.45 million to Kamuzu Academy on July 16, 2026 for Daniel Mpesi.

A further K2.7 million was reportedly paid to Mount Sinai School on the same day for Nathan Mpesi.

The payments came after Mpesi submitted his resignation on May 24, 2026.

MEC Chairperson Annabel Mtalimanja subsequently confirmed that Mpesi would serve a three-month notice period, with his employment ending on August 21.

The timing of the payments has raised questions over whether Mpesi remained entitled to education benefits during his notice period and which officials authorised the transactions.

Governance campaigners have called for the money to be recovered if investigators establish that the payments were not permitted under MEC regulations.

They have also demanded greater transparency over the approval process.

MEC has not publicly provided a detailed explanation of the payments or disclosed the officials who authorised them.

Fiscal Police are expected to determine whether the payments breached public financial management regulations or amounted to criminal misuse of public funds.