Malawi President Mutharika vows to tackle corruption in new term

Malawi's new president, Peter Mutharika, took office on Saturday with a pledge to stamp out endemic corruption and revive the struggling southern African nation's battered economy.

The 85-year-old, who previously served as president from 2014 to 2020, swept back to power in a decisive victory over incumbent Lazarus Chakwera, in a vote shaped by public anger over soaring living costs.

Thousands of supporters, clad in Mutharika's Democratic Progressive Party's traditional blue, packed Kamuzu Stadium in Malawi's commercial capital Blantyre to witness the swearing-in.

"We are back with a new vision and a new agenda," the Yale-trained law professor said to raucous applause.

"From today onwards, corruption is gone. If find you looting the government as a government official, I will deal with you," he declared. "You are now dealing with a different president."

One of the world's poorest countries, Malawi has been rocked by a string of multi-million dollar corruption scandals that has eroded trust in the political elite. The nation of 21 million people is ranked 107th out of 180 in Transparency International's corruption index.

A cyclone and regional drought -- both tied to climate change -- destroyed crops and deepened hardship, fuelling inflation above 30 percent alongside severe fuel and forex shortages.

During his first term, Mutharika brought inflation down to single digits.

Nearly three-quarters of Malawians live on less than $3 a day, according to the World Bank.

In 2019, Mutharika's victory over Chakwera was was nullified on tampering charges. The Constitutional Court ordered a rerun the following year that was won by Chakwera.

Chakwera, a former pastor, did not attend Saturday's ceremony swearing in Mutharika. His party said he was removed from the programme at the last minute.

"He graciously offered to attend the inauguration and personally perform the historic handover of power," the Malawi Congress Party said, and they "deeply respected" the decision to leave him out.