Joyce Banda 'Is The Most Trusted Political Leader' In Malawi

A survey has reportedly revealed that former Malawi president Joyce Banda is the "most trusted" political leader in the southern African country, despite being mired in the worst corruption scandal dubbed Cashgate.

According to Nyasa Times, Malawi's Institute of Public Opinion Research (Ipor), Banda was leading in being a trustworthy politician ahead of the current president Peter Mutharika and other political party leaders.

Joyce Banda 'Is The Most Trusted Political Leader' In Malawi

The survey showed that Banda received only 32% trust rating.

"Despite the fact that Joyce Banda has lost popularity with 5% popular rating by the survey, many Malawians are still able to remember that in terms of fulfilling her promises comparatively to the current president [Mutharika], she seems to score highly," the report quoted governance expert and commentator Makhumbo Munthali as saying.

Corruption allegations

Opposition United Democratic Front (UDF) president Atupele Muluzi was the "least trusted" political party leader with only 17% of Malawians saying they trusted him, the report said.

Banda returned home in April after four years of self-imposed exile. This was despite the fact that she faced the threat of arrest over corruption allegations.

An AFP report said that the 68-year-old former president fled the country in 2014 when she lost power after being embroiled in the so called Cashgate scandal, in which government officials siphoned off millions of dollars of public money.

Banda - only the second woman to lead a country in Africa – was in August re-elected as her People’s Party (PP) leader to lead it into next year’s national elections.

As political parties readied for next year's elections the PP gave Banda the mandate to attempt to wrestle power from Mutharika's Democratic Progressive Party (DPP), to whom she lost the 2014 elections.

Banda founded the PP in 2011 after splitting from the DPP.