Malawi's former minister denied bail in theft charge

A former Malawian information minister has been denied bail after being charged with theft and abuse of office.

Henry Mussa and a former director at the ministry, Gideon Munthali, were arrested over the weekend and taken to court on Monday in the capital, Lilongwe.

They were charged with the theft of 10 computers and three power generators during their tenure at the ministry last year. The computers and generators were meant for the Malawi News Agency.

They both denied any wrongdoing.

Magistrate Viva Nyimba denied the two suspects bail after the state argued that they would jeopardise investigations.

Police were given one more week to conclude investigations and arraign the suspects in court on 21 September.

Photos of the two appearing in court were shared by Zodiak Online.

Police said they recovered one of the 10 stolen computers at Mr Munthali's house and one of the three generators at Mr Mussa's house, according to a report published by the Voice of America.

This article originally appeared on BBC News

Photo: Zodiak Online/Twitter