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Malawi President Peter Mutharika has reportedly sacked his deputy, Saulos Chilima, in a cabinet reshuffle, ahead of a presidential election next year.

AFP reported in July that Chilima had put his hat in the ring for the 2019 elections against Mutharika, who was allegedly embroiled in a growing corruption scandal.

The vice president broke ranks with the ruling Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) in June when he quit the party citing unchecked corruption and nepotism.

“I am ready to contest . . . If we follow a process that is transparent and democratic, I will present myself as a candidate,” Chilima was quoted as saying at the time.

Following the development, Reuters reported this week that Chilima’s name was not on the list of members of cabinet which the chief secretary to the government, Lloyd Muhara, released.

No replacement for him was named either, the report said.

A leaked report from the country’s elite Anti-Corruption Bureau accused Mutharika of receiving a $195 000 bribe from a contractor tasked with supplying $4m worth of rations to Malawi’s police.

He has faced no formal charges, AFP reported.

— AP