Malawi Revenue Authority (MRA) officers have on Tuesday conducted a search warrant at Area 9 residence in Lilongwe, belonging to Alliance for Democracy (AFORD) President, Enock Chihana.

The warrant, issued by Principal Resident Magistrate Court in Lilongwe, indicates that the tax collecting body is investigating Chihana on tax evasion and fraud allegations, under the Customs and Excise Act.

According to the warrant, the MRA officers were authorized to seize business documents, like bank statements, and business contract agreements as well as electronic devices like phones and computers.

However, it took some hours for the search party which also comprised of police officers to conduct the search, as they were being denied entry into Chihana's residence, by family members.

It was until lawyer for the politician Khwima Mchizi, arrived on the scene that the search started, as earlier the family members argued that the AFORD leader and his wife were not home.

Amidst the search, a misunderstanding erupted over scope of the search, resulting to a halt for some minutes, but afterwards the focus was on business documents.

Speaking to Zodiak Online after the search, Mchizi said the search party found nothing.

"The search warrant was for them to search for documents to the offences they thought Chihana had committed," he said.

Meanwhile, MRA Acting Head of Corporate Affairs, Wilma Chalulu, confirms both the search warrant and the subsequent physical search, but could not divulge more details saying their investigations are continuing.

She said. "Because it's an ongoing investigation and because of issues surrounding taxpayer information confidentiality, I cannot say much."

Reports indicate that the search warrant is connected to a consignment of T-shirts that the AFORD President imported into the country, recently.