Court rebuffs fugitive Mphwiyo’s application to have his house not forfeited
The High Court in Lilongwe has dealt a big blow to fugitive Paul Mphwiyo who, through his wife Thandizo, wanted a stay and setting aside a forfeiture order of a bonded family residence in Area 43 in Lilongwe.
In her ruling Justice Ruth Chinangwa argued that the application for stay of the order of forfeiture lacks merit and “is dismissed this court having no jurisdiction to stay its final judgment.”
Judge Chinangwa ruled and ordered the forfeiture of the property on March 28 2024, after Mphwiyo absconded bail on the bonded property.
But through lawyer Khumbo Soko, the wife applied last week to the court to set aside the order, arguing the house did not belong to her husband but it was a matrimonial property for the family.
According to a statement issued by the Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB), the court’s ruling means that the house remains the property of the Malawi Government.
Mphwiyo, who is answering corruption charges related to Cashgate, is alleged to have fled the country in June last year, just as the High Court had earlier indicated that it would deliver its ruling on the matter. The case still awaits judgment.
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