This archive report was first published on 10 July 2019.
On July 10, 2019, police in Malawi detained two Malawian rights activists, Gift Trapence and Reverend MacDonald Sembereka, who helped organize protests over the recent re-election of President Peter Mutharika.
The activists, who are being held over allegations of fraud and stealing money from Aids programmes, are vice chairman of the Human Rights Defenders Coalition and a member of the group, respectively.
According to police spokesman James Kadadzera, a complainant from UNAids lodged a grievance with the police, alleging that the activists stole millions of Malawi kwachas.
Mr. Kadadzera stated, "What I can confirm is that they we have a complainant in the form of UNAids who came to lodge a grievance with the police. While I do not have the actual figures, I can confirm that the money runs into millions of Malawi kwachas."
President Mutharika, who first became president in 2014, was narrowly elected to a second term in office with 38.5% of the vote, despite allegations of vote-rigging by the Malawi Congress Party (MCP).
