Malawian police have arrested the stepson of former President Peter Mutharika for alleged involvement in the deaths of 30 illegal migrants whose bodies were found in mass graves in a forest in October.
The police said on Wednesday Tadikira Mafubza handed himself to law enforcement agents in the capital Lilongwe this week as investigations continued into the discovery of the graves in Mzimba, about 250 kilometres north of Lilongwe.
Police said there was strong evidence linking Mafubza to the graves and that a vehicle suspected to have been used to transport the group has been also impounded.
The deceased are believed to have been illegal Ethiopian migrants who were in transit to South Africa.
Malawi is a transit route for illegal immigrants from East Africa who are smuggled to South Africa.
Official figures show that at least 221 illegal immigrants were intercepted by Malawian authorities during the first nine months of this year, with 186 of them being Ethiopians.
JN/APA