Malawi High Court Judge Redson Kapindu has ordered Malawi Defence Force ( MDF) generals to appear before the court in Lilongwe to explain why they are refusing to furnish the Anti-Corruption Bureau with documents relating to Vice President Saulos Chilima’s high profile corruption case.
Kapindu has given the Chilima’s lawyers two days to file notice of hearing which should be served on Attorney General Thabo Chakaka Nyirenda and the MDF.
Chilima at court
This was after the Court learnt that MDF was not cooperating in furnishing the letters to the ACB, saying the documents were highly classified and a threat to national security.
ACB lawyer Chrispin Khunga told the court that ACB has served the MDF response to the defence and Court.
Chilima’s lawyer Bright Theu, however, accused and laughed off the ACB’s failure to fully use its powers under Section 11 of Corrupt Practices Act ( CPA) in forcing the MDF to provide the documents .
Defence lawyer Khumbo Soko told the court that all counts levelled against Chilima do not mention the amount of money alleged to have been received or demanded from the Malawi born British businessman Zuneth Sattar and branded the charges unconstitutional and that the court must throw out the case.
The initial charge sheet particulars of the offence indicated that the Veep received a $280 000 bribe to assist Xaviar Limited to be awarded food ration packs contract by Malawi Police Service.
The new particulars of the offences do not mention the alleged bribe but instead, accuse Chilima of demanding and receiving “unspecified amounts of money for himself” to influence a public officer to give his approval to enter into contact with the company.
“All the five counts accuse the defendant of accepting and receiving money from Zuneth Sattar, how much money did he demand or accept? It’s a constitutional imperative for one to be informed of the specific particularity of the charges.
” Even for legal practitioners, they must know what they are facing. Even when weighing on what to plead, the clarity of the allegations being made plays a crucial factor to the suspect,” he said.
But the ACB has linked the money that Vice president Saulos Chilima is alleged to have received or demanded from Sattar as an advantage arguing that it was unspecified and therefore cannot appear on the charge sheet .
In his submission before Judge Redson Kapindu today, one of ACB lawyers Anafi Likwanya said the money cannot be sufficiently particularised as the Bureau just wants to prove that a corrupt demand was made.
“The word advantage is defined as any benefit or service, enjoyment whether direct or indirect, whether cash or in kind, concession or loan, condition or circumstance,” he said.
Earlier, Judge Kapindu read out the fresh counts to Chilima which include breach of trust by public officer and corrupt transactions by agents.
Chilima’s corruption link first appeared in a united Kingdom court when the businessman applied for a removal of restrictions on his bail conditions.
