Former United Democratic Alliance (UDA) Secretary General Cleophas Malala now claims he was “forced” by the party’s leadership to pay “ghost workers” during his tenure at the party.

Malala told The Standard that some of the people on the party’s payroll worked in government institutions, even as he alleged that the party had deliberately hired unqualified persons to ensure an alleged tax-evasion scheme was executed successfully.

“I was forced, by the party’s leadership, to pay ghost workers. We had almost 40 to 50 people coming to work, but when you look at the payroll, we have almost 197 people,” Malala said, allegations The Standard could not independently verify.