Police in Lilongwe have arrested Tadikira Mafubza, stepson to former president Peter Mutharika, allegedly in relation to the mass grave found in Mzimba, according to BBC reports on Wednesday.

Authorities in Malawi said there was strong evidence linking Tadikira Mafubza to the graves, and a vehicle suspected to have been used to transport the group had also been impounded, the Malawi Voice reported.

In October, Malawi police in Mzimba found an additional four dead bodies in Mtangatanga forest, near Raiply in Mzimba, bringing the total number of dead bodies to 30, according to the Maravi Post.

The corpses, which were of boys and men, were believed to be Ethiopian migrants being trafficked to South Africa, the BBC reported.

According to Malawi police, the victims are male and aged between 25 and 40.

According to national police spokesperson Peter Kalaya, Mafubza handed himself over to police.

“That is all I can say for now as we continue with our investigations,“ he said.

In recent years, Malawi’s borders have become major transit routes for refugees from other African countries such as Ethiopia, according to migration and human rights experts.

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