Mail & Guardian
Mail & Guardian
Collins Mtika

Creator

Collins Mtika

Collins Mtika is a veteran journalist and the Mail & Guardian’s special correspondent in Mzuzu, Malawi. He is also the director of Centre for Investigative Journalism Malawi

Sowing the seeds: The deal between the two countries calls for the creation of a 5 000 hectare agricultural industrial park but key details remain unclear. Photo: Adrian K/Christopher Mitchell

China’s $50m agricultural bet in Malawi holds hope and risk

A massive industrial farming project promises investment and fertiliser production in a country gripped by hunger, debt and political uncertainty

MW2063 identifies industrialisation as one of three transformational pillars of Malawi’s long-term development strategy, alongside agriculture and urbanisation.
(Facebook)

Malawi’s industrial dream built backwards

Malawi’s industrial strategy has achieved only 40% of its targets, while core industrial capacity continues to weaken

A charity chaired by Malawi’s first lady, Gertrude Mutharika, has accepted multimillion-dollar pledges from two men facing serious legal scrutiny in South Africa,

Malawi first lady’s charity faces transparency questions after multimillion-rand donations

Contributions from controversial regional figures revive scrutiny over governance and political influence

The claim follows a February 3 ruling by the Malawi Supreme Court of Appeal that the Reserve Bank of Malawi (above) acted unlawfully when it revoked the Finance Bank of Malawi’s licence in May 2005.

Defunct Malawian Bank seeks $552m compensation

A bank that ceased operations more than two decades ago is seeking compensation from Malawi that could approach a 10th of the country’s annual budget, following a court ruling…

New research links rural solar adoption to mobile money use, while raising concerns about inequality

Solar powers Malawi’s mobile money boom but leaves the poorest behind

New research links rural solar adoption to mobile money use, while raising concerns about inequality

Heavy burden: Malawian President Peter Mutharika has assumed responsibility for a public finance system caught in a cycle of large fiscal deficits, rising interest payments and shrinking space for development spending. Photo: Supplied

Fiscal crisis tests Malawi’s reform agenda

The country’s debt-heavy budget leaves Peter Mutharika, beginning his second term after winning the September 2025 election, reliant on World Bank-backed reforms to restore…

Electrician Morithi Manasoe Working On Installing Solar Panels. Photo: Supplied

Malawi’s solar push bypasses its poorest

A peer-reviewed study finds wealth inequality is locking the poorest households out of solar electrification

The suspects boarding a police van. Photo: Macmillan Mhone

Malawi’s century-old witchcraft law leaves door open to mob killings

Seven deaths in southern Malawi expose legal gaps, weak prosecutions and a colonial law that authorities say is no longer fit to manage modern waves of panic-driven violence

Malawi’s parliament has opened a third formal investigation into the June 2024 military aircraft crash that killed former vice-president Saulos Chilima and eight others. (Malawi24/Facebook)

Malawi plane crash probe targets aviation oversight

For the families of the nine victims who died on a remote hillside in northern Malawi, the question that first emerged after the crash remains unresolved. The country’s third…

A nationwide shutdown by traders in Malawi has exposed a dispute that goes far beyond a new tax technology.
(Malawi24/X)

Malawi trader shutdown exposes deeper tension over tax reform and economic crisis

Malawi’s rollout of a digital tax platform has triggered widespread business protests, with traders arguing that economic pressures and foreign exchange shortages were ignored…

The claim follows a February 3 ruling by the Malawi Supreme Court of Appeal that the Reserve Bank of Malawi (above) acted unlawfully when it revoked the Finance Bank of Malawi’s licence in May 2005.

Malawi central bank removes pension trustees over disputed hotel deal

The unusually forceful intervention highlights concerns about governance in the management of public retirement savings

More than a year after the fatal Malawi Defence Force plane crash that killed Saulos Chilima, lawmakers have ordered forensic exhumations amid lingering questions over the official findings

Fresh inquiry into Malawi military plane crash to exhume Chilima and eight victims

More than a year after the fatal Malawi Defence Force plane crash that killed Saulos Chilima, lawmakers have ordered forensic exhumations amid lingering questions over the…

Gabriel Chembezi, the acting director-general of the ACB in Malawi. (Gabriel Chembezi/Facebook)

Malawi anti-corruption chief accused of using case files to pressure MPs

Malawi’s anti-corruption chief is accused of using confidential case files to pressure a parliamentary probe into a controversial pension fund deal.

The health share of Malawi’s national budget has slipped from 12.2 percent to 9.2 percent in recent years, retreating further from the 15 percent Abuja Declaration target that African Union member states endorsed in 2001. (Rachel Palmer/Sightsavers)

Malawi’s hospital crackdown ignites legal firestorm

A presidential order banning doctors from private practice has ignited a constitutional showdown, exposing the dangerous gap between anti-corruption politics and the hard…

Malawian Police have warned against “trial by public opinion” in the case.

Outcry after names removed from petition in Abdul Aziz Panjwani killing case

A public petition demanding arrests in the killing of Abdul Aziz Panjwani has been altered to remove the names of alleged suspects, raising concerns about transparency as…

Red flags: The Amaryllis controversy has unfolded alongside reported changes within institutions responsible for investigating financial crime.

Malawi’s questionable hotel deal lingers

During the same parliamentary hearings, the Reserve Bank of Malawi disclosed that investigators had traced 72.6 billion kwacha linked to financial flows associated with the…

Migration corridor: Lake Tanganyika is one of the African Great Lakes. Migration analysts describe an overland pathway connecting the Great Lakes and the Horn of Africa to South Africa via Tanzania, Malawi and Mozambique. Photo: Tanzania Tourism

Quiet crossing, big route

A quiet mountain crossing is forming a corridor from the Great Lakes toward southern Africa

According to data compiled by the Malawi Network of Older Persons Organisations (Manepo), 11 elderly people were killed over witchcraft accusations in the first four months of 2026 alone.

Malawi faces “ticking time bomb” as witchcraft killings and impunity rise

Rising witchcraft accusations in Malawi are fuelling deadly attacks on elderly people, exposing gaps in justice, social protection and governance

Malawi president Peter Mutharika

Malawi’s vice-president executive ‘reshuffle’ exposes governance risks

A government denial that vice-president Jane Ansah is being sidelined has highlighted a deeper issue: the consolidation of authority at the presidency during a period of climate…

Worker safety: Findings by the Karonga district commissioner reveal that drinking water at Kayelekera mine
does not meet acceptable standards. Photo: Supplied

Uranium mine audit flags toxic water and sanitation failures

Lotus Resources’ Kayelekera mine faces scrutiny after an audit revealed water safety and sanitation failures affecting workers