Lilongwe Mayor Sagawa cleared by Anti-Corruption Bureau over 70 plot acquisition
The Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB) has controversially shut down a months-long investigation into Lilongwe Mayor Esther Sagawa over allegations of abuse of office in a land allocation scheme, despite an internal recommendation that she be prosecuted.
According to the Platform for Investigative Journalism (PIJ), in February 2025, ACB launched probe on Mayor Sagawa, a rising figure in the ruling Malawi Congress Party (MCP), centered on claims that she colluded with councillors and city officials to dubiously allocate over 300 plots in Lilongwe’s Area 27, including more than 70 allegedly reserved for her benefit.
PIJ investigators revealed that Sagawa bypassed official channels by sending instructions via WhatsApp to city staff, directing that dozens of plots be set aside in her name and for unnamed State House officials. At one point, she reportedly demanded that 35 additional plots be reserved for her and threatened officials who resisted.
Multiple sources have confirmed that Acting ACB Director General Hillary Chinombo ordered the closure of the case earlier this month, raising alarm among investigators and civil society groups, who fear a deliberate cover-up ahead of Malawi’s crucial September 2025 presidential election.
“The investigation concluded that Sagawa abused her office by influencing members of the plot allocation committee to reserve more than 70 plots for her during deliberations on Area 27, Sector 3 allocations,” a source familiar with the investigation told PIJ. “This conduct violated Section 25(B)(1) of the Corrupt Practices Act, and investigators recommended that she be prosecuted under that provision.”
A May 12 restraining order—CR/LL/22/2025—issued by the ACB had frozen all plot allocations in Lilongwe, pending the outcome of the probe. The interim findings pointed to serious misconduct, including the mayor’s alleged use of WhatsApp to instruct city officials to reserve over 70 plots, as well as verbal threats issued to members of the land committee when they resisted her directives.
However, following submission of the interim report, Chinombo who has been acting ACB head since June 2024, reportedly overruled investigators’ recommendations and cleared Sagawa and the implicated councillors.
Mayor Sagawa was elected in June 2024 and has since faced growing scrutiny over her role in the dubious allocation of land in Lilongwe.
