The Malawi Electoral Commission (MEC) has moved to shut down a wave of social media claims that its Chairperson, Justice Annabel Mtalimanja, and other senior officials were blocked by police from leaving the country at Kamuzu International Airport, insisting the reports are false and that the real story is far less dramatic than online chatter has made it out to be.

In a signed press release dated 25th August 2026, MEC’s Director of Media and Public Relations, Sangwani Mwafulirwa, said the Commission had “noted with concern” reports circulating online that Mtalimanja and the Deputy Chief Elections Officer for Finance and Administration were stopped at the airport on or about 24th August 2026.

The Commission “categorically” denied that any official was prevented from travelling by police.

According to the statement, the Chairperson and the Deputy Chief Elections Officer were indeed scheduled to fly out — to Mozambique, not away from any confrontation — to attend an Executive Committee meeting of the Electoral Commissions Forum of SADC Countries (ECF-SADC), running from 25th to 27th August 2026.

Mtalimanja was due to depart on 23rd August and her deputy on 25th August.

The twist, MEC says, is bureaucratic rather than dramatic: the Commission was still waiting for clearance from the Office of the President and Cabinet (OPC) for the Mozambique trip when the travel dates arrived.

In other words, MEC is suggesting that a routine approval delay — not a police intervention — is what disrupted the travel plans and fed the rumour mill.

The Commission reiterated that there was no incident of any kind involving the Chairperson or any MEC official at Kamuzu International Airport, and appealed to the public and journalists to verify information about its officials and operations with MEC directly before publishing or sharing reports.