Police storm MEC offices to interrogate individuals in connection with “incomplete and inconclusive audit report”

* Whose preliminary audit queries has not yet been submitted by the Auditor General’s office since May 2026

* MEC contends that it has not been afforded the opportunity to review, respond to or clarify any matters that may have arisen during the audit process

By Duncan Mlanjira

It was reported on Friday, July 24, that there was tension at the Malawi Electoral Commission (MEC) offices in Lilongwe when Fiscal Police stormed the building while it was in a meeting — to interrogate some individuals in connection with what MEC continues to clarify as “incomplete and inconclusive audit report”.

Attorney General Frank Mbeta told The Nation on Friday that the operation is in connection with investigations into alleged financial mismanagement and abuse of office at MEC, that was revealed in the audit report.

MEC has issued a statement confirming that a team of officers from the Malawi Police Service’ Fiscal & Fraud Section invaded their head office “to investigate matters relating to the findings contained in a purported audit report by the Auditor General”.

“The Police officers indicated that the purpose of their visit was to request or invite certain individual officers of the Commission for questioning in connection with matters said to be contained in the incomplete and inconclusive audit report.”

The statement, released by director of media & public relations, Sangwani Mwafulirwa clarifies why they describe the audit report as “incomplete and inconclusive”, which was already explained in a communication MEC issued on July 1, 2026.

In that statement, director of media & public relations states that the Auditor General’s Office conducted an audit on MEC covering the period from April 1, 2022 to March 31, 2026 that was executed on April 7, 2026 and concluded on May 12, 2026.

Following the completion of the audit exercise, an exit meeting was held between the audit team and MEC’s management on May 12, 2026 during the management “was briefed on the audit process and informed of summary of some of the preliminary audit observations”.

“The auditors assured the MEC team that, as per audit procedures, a preliminary audit report would subsequently be provided to enable the Commission to submit responses, explanations, clarifications and supporting documentation before the audit report was finalised.”

MEC emphasises that “to date, it has not yet received the preliminary audit report from the Office of the Auditor General and, therefore, has not been afforded the opportunity to review, respond to or clarify any matters that may have arisen during the audit process”.

“The Commission is, therefore, gravely concerned that individual MEC officers are being required to provide responses, explanations or clarifications to investigative authorities before the Commission itself has been presented with any preliminary findings or accorded with the opportunity to address matters arising from the audit process.

“While the Commission respects the constitutional and statutory mandate of all law enforcement agencies and remains committed to cooperating with lawful investigations, it is gravely concerned by the sequence of events that are unfolding.

“It is Commission’s considered view that matters raised during an audit should, in the first instance, be presented to the institution’s governance body to allow appropriate responses and explanations to be provided and a final report of the audit report to be issued.

“This process is important because issues initially identified during an audit may subsequently be clarified, resolved or otherwise explained through the provision of additional information.

“Such matters may, therefore, not ultimately constitute audit findings requiring further action,” responds MEC, adding that it has since “engaged the relevant authorities to communicate its position and seek clarification on the recent developments, while reaffirming its commitment to due process and constructive institutional engagement”.

“As stated before, the Commission remains ready and willing to engage fully with the Office of the Auditor General and the Secretary to the Treasury and continues to look forward to receiving the preliminary audit report.

In its statement on July 1, MEC expressed its dismay that the Auditor General’s Office, “a highly trusted [public] institution”, leaked the “incomplete and inconclusive audit report” to the media.

It thus appealed to the Auditor General to “undertake the necessary investigation to establish the legitimacy of the allegedly leaked audit report, which would, for all intents and purposes, be a confidential document until officially published for public record”.

MEC also appealed to the public, the media and all stakeholders “to allow the audit process to run its full course and to refrain from drawing conclusions based on an incomplete and unofficial audit report”.

“The Commission remains committed to upholding the highest standards of integrity, accountability and transparency in the discharge of its constitutional mandate.”

News of the invasion of the MEC offices attracted responses from the public, and while others argued to let the law take its course, others were skeptical by linking that this law enforcement energy should have been extended to the controversial sale of Amaryllis Hotel.

Several commentators on social media indicated that the Amaryllis Hotel saga, which went through the scrutiny of the National Assembly but its findings were shelved, needed the same energy applied on MEC.

From the comments, the public’s view is that it seems the “government priority number on is MEC”, suggesting that it could be politics of intimidation and bullying following the impasse that exists between MEC and the government over the Executive Order on MEC to relocate from Lilongwe.

Others asked if this development is now a precedent in that “any time there’s an audit query everywhere, then fiscal police should invade that institution”.