LILONGWE-(MaraviPost)-The High Court in Lilongwe on Tuesday, April 2, 2024 ruled that it is premature for the defence in Vice President Saulos Chilima’s corruption case to seek some of the disclosures from the State at this stage of the case and has also agreed with the Malawi Defence Force (MDF) that some of the documents are indeed highly sensitive in nature to be made public.
Judge Reason Kapindu however, stressed that if during the trial such sensitive documents will prove to be relevant to a fair trial for the accused, “Then the Anti Corruption Bureau (ACB) is to decide whether to have such sensitive information disclosed or discontinue the case”.
Meanwhile, the court has directed that the defendant and his legal team as well as the Attorney General (AG) and lead counsel for ACB will be allowed access to “only see basis” of the sensitive documents just to appreciate the courts observations that the information is highly sensitive.
The sought disclosures include minutes of the Defence Council Meeting held on October 16 2020 authorising the procurement of armored personnel carriers (APCs) and a memorandum of March 2021 from the MDF to President Lazarus Chakwera seeking authorization to procure APCs from Malachite FZE, using single sourcing.
The matter has been adjourned to a later date to allow both parties to access the sensitive matter under “secret oath” that whatever they see will not be disclosed to the public.
Source: NationOnline
