The government has refused to release the list of prisoners pardoned by the President over Easter, prompting suspicion and speculation on who was pardoned. PIJ journalists have been out to dig for the truth. In a series of articles based on documents and interviews, we tell stories about the pardons. Follow our platforms for more. PART ONE: Lin captured during a previous court appearance (PICTURE SOURCE: internet) JULIUS MBEŴE The government almost released jailed Chinese wildlife trafficker Lin YunHua via a general amnesty. Still, he remains in prison after the Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB) obtained a court order to prevent his release, interviews with various sources and documents obtained by the Platform for Investigative Journalism (PIJ) have shown. The documents sourced show that the Lilongwe Magistrates Court issued a temporary remand order on Tuesday to keep Lin in custody under Criminal Case No. 753 of 2024. Lin is serving a 14-year sentence after being convicted of wildlife crimes in 2019. As previously reported by PIJ, his lawyers wrote to the then Minister of Homeland, Ken Zikhale Ng’oma, via a letter dated 7th May 2024, to ask for a presidential pardon. The investigation by PIJ then revealed that his team recruited some political players, reportedly to facilitate the release amid allegations of bribes. PIJ has also seen a warrant obtained to keep Lin on remand after the court agreed that Lin was a flight risk. The attempts to release Lin were always going to prompt a backlash. Pardons and general amnesties are supposed to benefit prisoners with good conduct. But Lin is due to answer fresh charges concerning attempts to bribe Judge Violet Chipao, who presided over his wildlife crimes trial. He is also about to start answering charges in connection with corruption-related offences he committed while in prison when he was allowed to go to his house and farm, do business, and other activities outside prison, a development exposed by another PIJ investigation. Additionally, before his arrest, Lin evaded justice for years as a fugitive on the run. Amid the plan to release Lin, several senior government officials, including the Minister of Justice, Titus Mvalo, are said to have strongly warned officials against such a move that would have been greeted with shock by the international community and anti-corruption campaigners. PIJ has obtained minutes of the meeting of the presidential advisory committee on prisoner pardons, where the Minister made the remarks. While not officially captured in the minutes, sources who attended the meeting confirmed the discussions, including the reference to Lin’s case. “The Minister demanded that they [Homeland Security officials] confirm that he is not among the beneficiaries of the general amnesty. The meeting even had to calculate the remaining period he is supposed to serve because everybody had heard of the plans to release him,” said the well-placed source. Both Mvalo and the Minister of Homeland, Ezekiel Ching’oma, did not respond to the PIJ’s questions. Over the weekend, the government refused to release the list of prisoners pardoned by the President over Easter, prompting suspicion and speculation on who was pardoned. As the rumors swirled about Lin’s planned release, PIJ dispatched an investigating and reporting team that confirmed with several prison sources the impending release. Through the Ministry of Homeland and Prison Services, the government officially denied holding any such plans. “…there is already a lie out there running, it seems you guys are already pushing the wrong blue lie narrative… I told you that it’s not true Lin is in Dedza; he is not going anywhere,” a Ministry of Homeland senior official told PIJ before later withdrawing the comment as an off-the-record burb. The court documents confirm that the State wanted to release Lin. “I am reliably informed that the accused is currently benefitting from a six-month deduction following the Easter holidays and, as a result, has effectively completed his sentence,” wrote ACB’s senior investigations director, Grace Banda, in an affidavit filed in court as part of an urgent application for the court to issue an order to stop the release of Lin. According to the graft-busting body, Lin should not be released from prison because of impending fresh corruption charges, including corrupting prison officials to allow him to spend time outside prison instead of serving his prison sentence. “While serving his custodial sentence, the Anti-Corruption Bureau received a complaint alleging that the accused was bribing prison officials and effectively enjoying an undue degree of freedom,” the affidavit states. According to Banda, Lin had already pleaded guilty to the new charges on 14 March 2025, and the State was ready to start parading witnesses by 8 April. However, the case has stalled due to administrative issues. The court agreed with the State on Lin’s flight risk assessment. “Lin YunHua be temporarily remanded at any prison in Malawi until an inter partes hearing for further detention of the said Lin YunHua, until the completion of this case, is heard,” wrote a magistrate in a signed court order. The new corruption case is scheduled for a hearing next month. Lin’s wildlife trafficking gang was once branded one of South Africa’s most notorious trafficking rings. In one of its reports, PIJ revealed that the Lin-Zhang syndicate was also in the illegal mining business. Some of the operations continue despite the leading syndicate members being in jail. Without licenses, the syndicate has been mining and exporting precious metals, including gold and coal. This article was produced by the Platform for Investigative Journalism (PIJ), an independent centre for investigative journalism. PIJ is committed to professional and ethical journalism. READ MORE: A JAILED CHINESE WILDLIFE GANG LEADER COMES AND GOES FROM PRISON AS HE PLEASES ACB PROBES MAULA PRISON OVER CONVICTED WILDLIFE KINGPIN SCAM ACB CONCLUDES INVESTIGATION ON MAULA PRISON’S WILDLIFE CRIME KINGPIN CASE ABOUT THE AUTHOR JULIUS MBEŴE is a journalist based in Lilongwe who regularly writes for the PIJ. He has previously worked for YONECO FM. Email: [email protected] X: @CaleoneMbewe
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