Police charge Gwengwe, Kawale, Zamba over K200bn East Bridge fertilizer deal
Published on February 3, 2026 at 3:30 PM by Evance Kapito
The Malawi Police Service (MPS) has arrested former Cabinet ministers Sosten Gwengwe and Sam Kawale, alongside former Secretary to the President and Cabinet (SPC) Colleen Zamba, in connection with the controversial K200 billion East Bridge fertilizer deal.
National Police spokesperson Lael Chimtembo confirmed the arrests in a statement, revealing that the three former high-ranking officials are being investigated for abuse of office, fraud, and money laundering.
The arrests follow a joint investigation between the MPS and the Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB) into contracts awarded to East Bridge Estates involving the supply of fertilizer, as well as the trading of soya beans and tobacco.
“The Malawi Police Service, working jointly with the Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB), has arrested three former senior Government officials in connection with investigations into contracts awarded to East Bridge involving fertilizer, soya beans, and tobacco,” reads the statement from Chimtembo.
The deal, which came under intense public scrutiny in 2023, involved the Ministry of Agriculture and the Smallholder Farmers Fertilizer Revolving Fund of Malawi (SFFRFM) engaging East Bridge Estates a Romanian-based company to supply 600,000 metric tonnes of fertilizer.
The contract was structured as a commodity exchange (barter) agreement, where Malawi was expected to trade agricultural produce, including soya beans, for the fertilizer. However, questions were raised over the company’s capacity and the transparency of the procurement process.
According to the police, the suspects are expected to appear in court soon to be formally charged.
Gwengwe, who served as Minister of Finance, and Kawale, the former Minister of Agriculture, surrendered themselves to Area 30 police headquarters in Lilongwe earlier this week. Zamba also handed herself over to authorities after being sought for “fresh allegations” unrelated to her previous legal challenges in December.
The arrests signal a significant escalation in the investigation into one of the largest and most contentious procurement deals under the previous administration.
