Update: Despite intensified police operations, an eighth person has died in continuing mob violence in the Lower Shire districts of Chikwawa and Nsanje, according to Nyasa Times. The unrest is driven by local rumours of disappearing private parts. The latest victim died following a mob assault, prompting authorities to maintain a deployment of at least 300 police officers to the region to suppress the attacks. Nation Online reports that 28 suspects connected to the earlier violence were remanded to Chichiri Prison in Blantyre this week, pending their committal to the High Court.
In civil court news, the defunct Finance Bank of Malawi is seeking K1.03 trillion in compensation from the Reserve Bank of Malawi, Malawi Nation reports. The financial claim follows a Malawi Supreme Court of Appeal ruling which determined that the central bank acted unlawfully when it revoked the commercial bank's operating licence. Attorney General Frank Mbeta confirmed his office is collaborating with the Reserve Bank to challenge the demand. A formal hearing to assess the legal damages is scheduled for May 25.
Update: Internal disputes have surfaced within the Anti-Corruption Bureau following the halted arrest of former Finance Minister Simplex Chithyola Banda. According to Nyasa Times, acting bureau boss Gabriel Chembezi suspended senior investigator Robert Mkandawire following the botched operation. Chembezi is facing accusations from insiders of abandoning the investigative field team without security or logistical support. The arrest attempt was successfully blocked after the former minister secured a court injunction restraining the execution of the warrant.