LILONGWE-(MaraviPost)-The Malawi Defence Force (MDF) over the weekend complied with Justice Redson Kapindu’s order to submit more disclosures in a matter in which Vice President Saulos Chilima is suspected to have received an unspecified amount of money to influence the award of a contract to the business tycoon Zunneth Sattar.
Registrar of the High Court and Malawi Supreme Court of Appeal Kondwani Banda has confirmed the development.
“I can confirm that they complied. They appeared before the judge and submitted the required document at the ordered time” said Banda.
The demanded disclosures are defence council minutes and correspondence between MDF Commander then General Vincent Nundwe and President Lazarus Chakwera.
Initially, MDF refused to submit these documents citing national security until January 12, when Judge Kapindu ordered that these documents should be submitted to him directly to decide on the way forward before January 22, 2023.
The court therefore will set a date for the verdict on the future of the case.
On January 12, this year the court discharged Chilima from counts number 3 and 5 bordering on breach of trust by public officers.
According to the ruling by Judge Redson Kapindu, the state introduced the charges after the expiry of the prescribed period.
The Judge said ACB should have initiated the commencement of trial and conclusion of the two counts by July 2022 having received the complaint in July 2021.
This means that three counts now remain on the charge sheet where Chilima is accused of demanding unspecified sums of money from the businessman
The defense had argued that “unspecified” was vague and prayed for a clear particular of the offence to which the court ruled that the wording of unspecified was valid to stand the way it is.
