Bright Msaka, the secretary to the president and the Cabinet, said in a statement that Mutharika had fired Mwawa as education minister and as the leader of the government's business in Parliament. Mwawa, who denied any wrongdoing, remains a member of Parliament and can only lose his seat if he is convicted of the charges.

The government alleges that Mwawa used money form the Ministry of Education's Special Client Account to pay for his wedding reception, said Anti-Corruption Bureau spokesperson Egrita Mdala. The wedding, at which he married Diana Nkhulembe, a journalist currently working as a press officer for Vice President Cassim Chilumpha, cost about US$700. Authorities have charged the minister with abuse of public office, theft by a public servant, forgery and making a false statement, Mdala said.

Mwawa pleaded innocent to all charges on Tuesday when he appeared before a magistrate in Lilongwe. He was released on bail but ordered to surrender his travel documents and to report to the Anti-Corruption Bureau every week until he goes on trial. The alleged fraud was first reported last month by the Weekend Nation, an influential weekly. The newspaper reported the minister told his officials to use a check that was supposed to be for a meeting that was canceled to pay for his wedding.

President Bingu wa Mutharika, who has professed a "zero tolerance" policy on corruption, has not commented publicly on the allegations. However, he set up a committee to investigate the allegations. Mwawa is the first Cabinet minister to be arrested while in office since the country resumed multiparty politics in 1994. He is also the first close ally of the president to be arrested in the anti-corruption drive.