Chaudhry Implicated in Uladi’s Dubious Citizenship Scandal

Activists Demand Probe on Beneficiaries

Former Minister of Homeland Security Uladi Mussa remains a symbol of Malawi’s deep-seated corruption in the issuance of citizenships and passports.

Between 2013 and 2014, while serving under Joyce Banda’s administration, Mussa approved dozens of dubious citizenships and passports for foreigners who had not met the legal residency requirement.

In October 2020, during the administration of Lazarus Chakwera, the High Court convicted Mussa of abuse of office and neglect of duty, sentencing him to five years in prison.

His co-accused, immigration officer David Kwanjana, was also jailed. However, in April 2023, Chakwera granted Mussa a presidential pardon, cutting short his sentence that was due to end in October 2025.

Human rights activists argue that Mussa’s pardon does not absolve the scandal’s beneficiaries. Among them is Pakistan-born Blantyre-based businessman Mahmood Azhar Chaudhry, who reportedly received Malawian citizenship through Mussa’s corrupt approvals.

Activists insist that individuals like Chaudhry are “accomplices” to Mussa’s crimes and must face justice.

“The fact that authorities did not pursue the specific beneficiaries of Mussa’s corrupt activities does not mean these beneficiaries are clean. They must be investigated and brought to book,” one activist, Moffat Mlinga stressed.

Chaudhry’s name has repeatedly surfaced in recent reports of illegal activities: He falsely claimed diplomatic status, erecting a “Pakistan Consulate” signpost in Blantyre and driving vehicles with CC plates reserved for diplomats, and also getting a diplomatic passport on false claims that he was a diplomat.

Malawi’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs confirmed in 2022 that he never held such recognition. He allegedly misled public officers between 2018–2022, including the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Malawi Revenue Authority, to secure diplomatic privileges.

He is accused of lying about his date of entry into Malawi to fraudulently obtain citizenship, with immigration records contradicting his claims.

In July 2026, Limbe Magistrate’s Court issued warrant of arrests against him and his wife, Neelam, for multiple counts, including false statements in citizenship applications and misrepresentation of diplomatic status.

Activists warn that ignoring Chaudhry’s cases undermine Malawi’s justice system. They argue that allowing beneficiaries to escape scrutiny emboldens impunity, adding that failure to act erodes confidence in government institutions.

Given Chaudhry’s history of deception, including lying under oath in court that he was a diplomat when he was not, activists such as Human Rights Consultative Committee (HRCC) chairperson Robert Mkwezalamba urge authorities to move swiftly to revoke his citizenship, prosecute him, and prevent further abuses.

Chaudhry has also been using his connections to Chakwera’s Malawi Congress Party (MCP) when it was in power to frustrate progress of criminal cases against him, including the perjury one, also taking advantatge of his lawyer, Bright Theu, who between 2019 and 2020 joined forces with prominent lawyers to legally force the then Democratic Progressive Party of Peter Mutharika out of power when the court called for fresh elections which Chakwera, supported by the late Saulos Chilima as a running mate, won.

Mussa’s conviction and subsequent pardon highlight the fragility of accountability in Malawi’s governance. While Mussa’s prison term was cut short, the scandal’s beneficiaries, including Chaudhry, remain untouched.

Human rights defenders insist that justice demands more than punishing the minister; it requires investigating and prosecuting those who profited from his corrupt approvals.

The call is clear: Malawi’s authorities must act with speed and decisiveness to restore public trust, uphold the integrity of the citizenship system, and ensure that individuals like Chaudhry do not continue to exploit loopholes at the expense of the nation.

Meanwhile, pressure from civil society group has also mounted calling on the Director of Public Prosecutions to join a case in which Chaudhry and his wife are accused of maltiple fraudulent land transfers in a matter coming before the Limbe Magistrate’s Court brought by private prosecutors and Malawi Police Service.