Charity gets millions from donors facing legal scrutiny

A charity chaired by Malawi’s first lady, Gertrude Mutharika, has accepted multimillion-dollar pledges from two men facing serious legal scrutiny in SA, amid questions over its governance and regulatory compliance. It has done so without providing publicly available audited accounts or confirmed proof of registration under Malawi’s updated non-profit regulatory framework, reports the Mail & Guardian. The Beautify Malawi Trust, led by Mutharika, held a relaunch ceremony at Kamuzu Palace, the presidential residence in Lilongwe, in February, attended by President Peter Mutharika and senior government and ruling party officials. Within three months, the trust had received a $1m pledge from Zimbabwean businessperson Wicknell Chivayo and a 300m kwacha ($16 319 607) donation from Malawian-born preacher Shepherd Bushiri and his wife. Both men are subject to legal and financial scrutiny in SA. Neither donation has been accompanied by public disclosure of how the trust manages or accounts for the funds it receives. The trust’s governance gaps are not new. In 2014, an unauthorised transfer of public health funds to the organisation contributed to Malawi losing its status as principal recipient of a $574m grant from the Global Fund to Fight Aids, Tuberculosis and Malaria, with documented consequences for HIV and TB service delivery. An analysis by SA’s Financial Intelligence Centre found that more than R800m ($49 288 400) flowed into companies associated with Chivayo after Zimbabwe’s Finance Ministry paid more than R1.1bn ($67 749 638) to a firm linked to him for election-related contracts.

In April, the Gauteng High Court (Pretoria) reinstated an order freezing his assets in SA, as part of a continuing legal process that has not reached final judgment. Chivayo has denied wrongdoing and stated that his engagements in Malawi concerned potential investments. His pledge to the Beautify Malawi Trust nonetheless connects a politically sensitive businessperson who is under financial crime scrutiny to a charity chaired by a sitting first lady, according to the M&G. Three months later, Shepherd Bushiri and his wife presented the 300m kwacha to the trust at a public ceremony at Kamuzu Palace in May. Bushiri is a Malawian-born religious leader who fled SA in 2020 while on bail over fraud and money laundering charges linked to about R102m ($6 284 073). While a Malawian court ordered his extradition to SA in March 2025, the ruling was later overturned on procedural grounds. South African authorities have signalled their intention to continue seeking his return. Bushiri’s repeated appearances with senior Malawian officials have strained bilateral relations. South African media and officials have questioned how a fugitive from their courts is able to maintain high-level public engagements in Malawi. His donation to a charity chaired by the first lady extends the tension into the domain of organised philanthropy, placing it visibly within the orbit of the presidency.