Diplomats lease deputy ambassador’s residence to private company

Three Malawi diplomats allegedly leased two government-owned properties in Harare, Zimbabwe, to a private company for 10 years without the knowledge or approval of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, local media reports.

One of the properties is designated as the official residence of Malawi’s Deputy Ambassador to Zimbabwe.

The leases, signed on February 1, 2026, gave Certain Wells Investments Private Limited control of the two properties until January 31, 2036.

According to documents obtained by Platform for investigative Journalism, the agreements were signed on behalf of the Malawi Embassy by its then head of mission, retired General Dr Peter Namathanga.

The transaction also implicates Dr Hudson Mankhwala, then counsellor at the embassy, and Brigadier Pethias Mdoka, a defence attaché in the Malawi Army.

A senior official in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs reportedly told local media that the ministry was neither consulted nor asked to approve the agreements before they were signed.

The company is linked to Chenglong Jiang, a Chinese national who also holds an American passport.

The properties were reportedly intended for use as private student accommodation, raising questions about the circumstances surrounding the leasing of government assets and the authority under which the diplomats entered into the agreements.