Africa-Press – Malawi. Former Vice President Khumbo Hastings Kachali has disowned the Facebook page bearing his name. Kachali, who is also president of the Freedom Party and a partner of the Tonse Alliance government, has told Nyasa Times that he does not own a page on social media.
His clarification follows threats of a legal action against the former Vice President over an article article Nyasa Times carried two days ago, alleging that the former administration authorized Reserve Bank of Malawi (RBM) to borrow over US$350 million from Afrexim Bank, which was diverted to FDH Bank for sharing among party functionaries.
Through this fake Hon. Khumbo Kachali Facebook Page, the account holder claimed that due to this borrowing, Malawi now owes Afrexim Bank a whooping US$800million. He attributed the prevailing forex scarcity and shortage of fuel to this loan.
“During Peter Mutharika’s rule, RBM borrowed over US$350 million from AfreximBank. Katapila weniweni because we now owe AfreximBank US$800million. Painfully, the money was fraudulently diverted to FDH Bank. It was reported as an inflow by an investor and not as a loan.
“To disguise this, FDH sold the borrowed money to RBM and made a whopping MK10.4 billion profit within just two hours. This money was shared between FDH and crooked DPP party functionaries,” alleged the page.
“Peter Mutharika will now accuse Chakwera of targeting a particular tribe when all he did was appoint corrupt frauds from that tribe. Assuredly, we don’t want to dwell in the past and we are working to find a lasting solution to the forex issue but Peter Mutharika is certainly not one we can solicit that advice from,” it added.
But in a communication to Nyasa Times on Friday, Kachali disowned the page, stressing that he does not have even a single account on the social media.
“I wish to reiterate, as I did in May 2013, June 2014, October 2015, and many other times, that I do not have any social media account on any platform including the purported Facebook page whose contents, character, and standards are meant to demean other politicians and political institutions. It is sad that some online media have amplified the fake messages by publishing stories without checking with me,” he said.
The former Vice President emphasized that while he cherished and will always defend freedom of speech, opinion, and expression, the social media posts defaming or demeaning others do not fall into any category of freedom. Impersonating myself or any other person is a criminal offense.
“I wish to request the Malawi Police Service to trace the culprits and bring them to account for the abuse of the platforms. I am also undertaking private measures to deal with the matter. As if and when I decide to have a social media page or platform, the public will be duly notified,” said Kachali.
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