Businessman found with MEC generator

Police in Mzimba have arrested a businessman for being found with a Malawi Electoral Commission (MEC) generator.

According to reports, the suspect is Martin Makwakwa who conducts business at Kazuni Trading Centre.

Makwakwa told police that MEC officials conducting voter registration exercise in the area gave him the generator.

After being interrogated, the MEC registration workers told police that they received three generators from MEC warehouse with instructions to sell two of them.

Meanwhile, a registration MEC official and Makwakwa are in the hands of the police.

This comes following a difficult period for MEC. Over a week ago, a biometric voter registration kit was found on a train in Mozambique.

The electoral body said it had used the kit in three centres in the Central Region and the kit went missing while being transported to Mwanza. MEC claimed that the registration data was not tampered with.

Last week, a laptop used for the registration exercise in Mzuzu also went missing.  Following the incidents, some Malawians demanded the resignation of MEC chairperson Jane Ansah.