BLANTYRE-(MaraviPost)-The Malawi High Court on Friday, September 10, 2021 found guilty business mogul Thomson Mpinganjira for offering money to constitutional court judges including Ivy Kamanga, Redson Kapindu, Healy Potani, Michael Tembo and Dingiswayo Madise in order for the judges rule the 2019 elections case in favour of the then Malawi leader Peter Mutharika.
The court has therefore revoked his bail that Mpinganjira be remanded at Chichiri prison in Blantyre waiting for sentence.
Judge Dorothy DeGabrielle told the court that Mpinganjira attempted fully to bribe lead judge Potani in 2019 election case with the parcel of MK100 million.
DeGabrielle told the court that Mpinganjira acknowledged to have had a conversation with both Justice Tembo and Justice Potani that he had no problem with recordings to be part of the state witness.
Judge DeGabrielle added that Mpinganjira told the court that he was however not aware that Justice Tembo was recording their conversation and was surprised that he was being recorded because Tembo would have just told him what he was doing wrong, considering that they were good friends.
She says all evidence that the witness admits becomes admitted evidence in the court.
The judge told the court that Mpinganjira had admitted that the recordings tendered in the court were his conversation and therefore is admissible evidence.
Degabriele observed that the Corrupt Practices Act under which Dr.Mpinganjira was charged clearly says that the burden of proof rests with the prosecution,in this case the Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB) and it must be proof beyond any reasonable doubt.
Judge Degabriella says the evidence of the court shows that the purpose of the parcel was to offer an advantage to the judges not giving donations to political parties
The judge therefore eventually found Mpinganjira guilty of six accounts including offering an advantage to a public Officer, attempting to induce a public officer to perform his or her functions corruptly in order for the five judges to rule in favour of Former President Peter Mutharika and Malawi Electoral Commission (MEC), attempting to induce a public officer to abuse his office, offering an advantage to a public officer, attempting to induce a Public Officer to perform his duties corruptly and attempting to induce a public officer to abuse his office.
Despite state parading witness against former FDH Chief Executive Officer pleaded not guilty and the state paraded six witnesses.She says the court entered plea of not guilty and commenced trial.
Only two witnesses defended the matter including Mpinganjira himself and lady.
Mpinganjira was arrested in January last year on allegations that he attempted to bribe Constitutional Court judges who were presiding over the elections case in 2019.
Hearing of the case started around October in 2020. The judges told the court that Mpinganjira contacted some of the judges during the elections case saying he wanted to deliver a parcel to them.
In his testimony, Mpinganjira revealed that he has over the years donated over MK1.4 billion to political parties in the country.
The bribery case started in October 2020 and ended mid-2021
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