Nkhotakota District Commissioner Ben Matengeni Tohno and five others have been granted bail by the Senior Resident Magistrate Court in Lilongwe after being charged with six counts linked to the alleged misappropriation of K3.88 billion meant for development projects in the district. The six accused persons Ben Matengeni Tohno, Khumbo Masankhula, Joseph Belo, Godfrey Chipanda, Aubrey Zimba and Solomon Chijali were arrested on 11 September 2026. They are facing charges of misuse of public office, money laundering, fraud, altering of documents (purchasing receipts), negligence by a person employed in the public service, and conspiracy to commit a felony. On Monday, 15 September 2026, Senior Resident Magistrate Shukran Kumbani granted them bail after carefully considering all submissions before the court. Each of the accused is required to pay a cash bond of K2 million and present traceable and reliable sureties with a non-cash bond of K10 million. They have also been ordered to surrender all travel documents and report to the State as required. Five of them must report to Nkhotakota Police once a week, while one has been directed to report to Rumphi Police where he resides. Tohno walks out of court after being granted bail. The court further directed that the accused must make themselves available whenever needed by the State for further investigations. One of the lawyers representing the accused, Jefferson Luwa, said the court has set the matter for 18 September 2026 at the High Court Post navigation We Are With You — Britain Tells Parliament Exclusive: The Killer in the Witness Box: How a Convicted Murderer Became the Chilima Inquiry’s ‘Interpreter”