BLANTYRE-(MaraviPost)-The Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB) through its Principal Public Relations Officer Egrita Ndala has announced the conviction of Former Procurement Officer in the Ministry of Tourism Odoi Kamange who was arrested in 2019 over cashgate link.
Odoi Kamange convicted
According to Ndala in a statement, Kamange was convicted by Senior Resident Magistrate Court on September 2,2022 on three counts of which one is of theft by conversion contrary to Section 271 as read with Section 278 of the Penal Code, and the two of money laundering contrary to Section 42 of the Financial Crimes Act.
It is reported that Kamange, while working with department of tourism in 2013, borrowed a Business Registration Certificate from Esnarth Ndovi to use it for tender submition at the department of tourism.
The department paid a total of MK12,950,000.00 through a cheque in the name of Business Registration Certificate belonging to Ndovi.
This is notwithstanding the fact that Ndovi had not rendered any service nor supplied any goods to Malawi Government.
Later, Kamange asked Ndovi to cash the cheque and give him MK12,000,000.00 which she did.
The ACB arrested Ndovi in 2014 and she pleaded guilty to the charge of theft contrary to Section 278 of the Penal Code and money laundering contrary to Section 35(1)(c) of the money laundering act.
She was then convicted and sentenced to 3 and half years in prison.
At the time, Kamange had fled the country.
He was arrested by ACB in 2019 after he returned to Malawi and charged with a count of theft by conversion and two counts of money laundering.
Meanwhile, the sentencing of Kamange is scheduled to take place on September 15,2022.
LILONGWE-(MaraviPost)-High placed sources with law enforcing agency has confided in this publication that embattled Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB) Director General Martha Chizuma is expected to be arrested on leaked audio saga.
Chizuma who is currently abroad on private trip will be arrested upon arrival in the capital Lilongwe.
She left Malawi on Sunday, April 10, 2022 to meet and convince “her financiers about her allegiance on corruption fight in the country”, according to sources at ACB.
This following Office of Director of Public Prosecution (DPP) Steven Kayuni endorsing Chizuma’s arrest after studying a court order to decide the possibility of commencing criminal charges on a leaked audio that contravenes ACB office’ oath.
DPP Steven Kayini and Martha Chizuma (from left)
“ACB boss Chizuma will be arrested upon arrival from a private trip over the leaked audio that injured many including contravening ACB office oath.
“As we speak, DPP just endorsed the arrest after examining court order on criminal charges on her,” says the source within Malawi Police Service.
Ministry of Justice spokesperson Pirirani Masanjala on Tuesday, April 19, 2022 confirmed the DPP was served with an order that Mzuzu senior resident magistrate Godfrey Nyirenda granted last month ordering the Malawi Police Service and the DPP to investigate the leaked audio.
“I can confirm that we have been served with the court order and we are evaluating it,” he said. Ruling on an application by Mzuzu resident Frighton Phombo, Nyirenda further ordered Police and DPP to ascertain if criminal charges can be brought against Chizuma.
Sources privy to the matter said the DPP was expected to write the Office of the Attorney General to seek direction because the office of the DPP does not have investigative powers.
“It’s a legal process and what is happening is that the DPP does not have investigative powers, so they have to engage either the police to do that. But the DPP is writing the Attorney General seeking direction on the matter,” added the source.
Phombo moved the court to open a case against Chizuma on allegations that she violated the Corrupt Practices Act (CPA) by revealing to a third party information on investigation for corruption.
He contended that Chizuma committed an offence of directly revealing official information to un-authorised person, contrary to regulation 4(a) of the CPA, and that of making use of speech capable of prejudicing a person against a party to judicial proceedings, contrary to Section 113 (1) (d) of the Penal Code.
But Nyirenda said even though a leeway is given for private citizens to institute criminal proceedings, the overall and ultimate authority over such proceedings remains with the DPP.
On January 24, 2022 President Lazarus Chakwera reprimanded Chizuma for the leaked conversation, indicating that he had summoned her for a meeting where she confirmed speaking about ongoing investigation in the leaked audio that had gone viral.
He described her action as unfortunate but said he would not dismiss her. Instead, he issued a stern warning that he will keep an eye on her conduct.
Chizuma is also facing defamation charges lodged by Ashok Kumar Sreedharan, who sued her for alleging in the audio that money changed hands to have him released after an arrest.
In the audio, Chizuma put in the spotlight churches, judges, lawyers and the Presidency as not helping matters corruption fight.
This comes a few days after political-activist Bon Kalindo gave five-days President Lazarus Chakwera to fire Chizuma over the same leaked audio that breached ACB’s Office oath.
Listening to Hon. Chilima detail the myriad of problems and travails confronting our country and his ‘economic recovery plan’ aimed at ‘balancing the economic variables’ to ‘resuscitate the Malawi economy from its deathbed’ through his ‘12 Point Plan’, one would not know Hon. Chilima has a private-sector background and sufficient experience with private-sector centered solutions to realize the private sector has a crucial role to play in solving some of our more intractable problems. I may have wrongly believed Hon. Chilima’s appeal to ‘his’ DPP and the country was his private-sector background and therefore his apparent lack of enthusiasm for and confidence in private sector based solutions very perplexing to say the least. Hon. Chilima’s understanding of how the Malawi economy functions, how to grow it and how to use it to create private-sector jobs seems suspect or at best very rudimentary. Or is Hon. Chilima just another politician saying what people want to hear or, as they say, simply speaking the language of the people? Continue reading Is Hon. Saulos Chilima Trafficking In Deception Or Just Difficult-To-Realize Hopes?→
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