“Muluzi was arrested on 26 February and initially charged with 86 counts of corruption and abuse of office,” reports PANA. “He is being accused of allegedly diverting 1.7 billion Malawi Kwacha (about US $11m [€8.6m]) of donor money into his personal account.”

The former president did not enter a plea, as his lawyers sought more time to prepare for the case. “His lawyer Kalekeni Kaphale told the court that the Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB) only handed over the file containing 80 counts against him earlier this month,” writes AFP.

“The bureau has been investigating Muluzi – president of the southern African country for 10 years until 2004 – for two years for allegedly siphoning money from Taiwan, Morocco, Libya and other donors,” details Reuters.

Muluzi has rejected claims he siphoned public money into his personal bank account. In an interview with Voice of America, he said, “There is nowhere in the world where a donor would write a check to a personal account in my name. It is not possible.”

On 20 March, the Malawi Electoral Commission announced: “Muluzi cannot run in May elections because he has already served the maximum two terms the constitution allows,” reports the Associated Press (AP).

In response Muluzi has filed a lawsuit challenging the decision, writes AFP.

Even if Muluzi is allowed to run the “Criminal proceedings will hamper Muluzi’s campaign because his movements will be restricted,” writes the AP.

“Muluzi is running against the incumbent, Bingu wa Mutharika. The two men used to be allies, but they fell out after Mutharika came to power and accused Muluzi of trying to block his anti-corruption drive,” writes the AP.

There are fears that the inquiry could spark violence before the election.

Muluzi, who ruled Malawi from 1994 to 2004, was “first arrested over the allegations in 2006 but the then-director of public prosecutions threw out the charges,” notes the BBC.