BLANTYRE-(MaraviPost)-The Malawi Judiciary has appointed Ruth Mputeni as its new spokesperson, tasked with driving strategic communication for the institution.
Mputeni, a seasoned communications specialist, brings over 10 years of experience in journalism, communications, and public relations to her new role.
According to Judiciary Chief Registrar Innocent Nebi, Mputeni has been engaged as Chief Corporate Affairs and Public Relations Officer.
Nebi highlighted that Mputeni’s expertise will be crucial in promoting the judiciary’s commitment to openness, accountability, and meaningful public engagement.
Mputeni joins the Malawi Judiciary from her previous role at the Public Service Pension Trust Fund, where she likely honed her skills in managing communications and stakeholder engagement.
Her appointment is part of the judiciary’s efforts to enhance its communication strategy and foster stronger relationships with the public.
The Malawi Judiciary, as a branch of the government, plays a critical role in interpreting and applying the laws of Malawi to ensure equal justice under the law.
With Mputeni at the helm of its communications department, the institution is poised to improve its outreach and engagement with the public.
As Chief Corporate Affairs and Public Relations Officer, Mputeni’s responsibilities will include managing the judiciary’s public image, handling media relations, and ensuring that the institution’s messages are conveyed effectively to the public.
Her experience in journalism and public relations will be invaluable in navigating the complex landscape of media and stakeholder engagement.
Mputeni’s appointment comes at a time when the Malawi Judiciary is working to strengthen its relationships with the public and other stakeholders.
In recent years, the judiciary has taken steps to promote transparency and accountability, including educational visits to courts by students from institutions like the Malawi Institute of Legal Education and William Murray Secondary School.
The Malawi Judiciary’s efforts to enhance its communication strategy are part of a broader commitment to promoting the rule of law and ensuring access to justice for all Malawians.
With Mputeni’s expertise and experience, the institution is well-positioned to achieve its goals and build stronger relationships with the public it serves.
If my memory serves me right, many Malawians heaved a sigh of relief when the former Chief Justice Andrew Nyirenda was replaced by the current Chief Justice Rezine Mzikamanda.
During Nyirenda’s leadership, the courts were replete with judicial anomalies such as judicial tourism, a constitutional court acting ultra vires by overriding the decisions of the Supreme Court of Appeal, a conspiracy-to-murder convict being on bail indefinitely, delayed justice and unconstitutional 6 year tenure of office for members of parliament.
It is against this background that this write-up aims at finding out if Malawians are now getting fair justice under the tutelage of Chief Justice Rezine Mzikamanda by analysing his strengths and shortfalls.
Positives under Chief Justice Rezine Mzikamanda
For starters, judiciary is a very crucial arm of the government because it is even a final arbitrator to all the citizens including the Executive and the Legislative arms of government.
This is why the Judiciary must be very cautious to maintain its integrity and impartiality.
During Mzikamanda’s reign, we have seen some court verdicts that exude professionalism and integrity.
Some notable convictions under Mzikamanda’s leadership are former Minister of Homeland Security, Uladi Mussa and former Minister of Information, Henry Mussa.
In his presentation of the state to the nation address (sona), President Chakwera claimed that the Judiciary prosecuted 582 criminal cases and contested 1,320 civil cases in various courts saving more than one trillion kwacha in the process.
It has been learnt that the Judiciary also established a confiscation fund in which the confiscated proceeds of crime will be kept for transparency and accountability.
The Sona further claimed that the construction of the perimeter fence for Judiciary complex will commence next month.
Despite these successes, Chief Justice Rezine Mzikamanda’s mantleship comes with its shortfalls.
Chief Justine Rezine Mzikamanda
Shortfalls under Chief Justice Rezine Mzikamanda:
1.Courts are promoting corruption
It is unfathomable that the courts can grant orders to corruption suspects such as Kezzie Msukwa and Zunneth Sattar associates from being interrogated and prosecuted by a duly instituted Anti Corruption Bureau (ACB).
Why does the court choose to promote corruption instead of stamping it out?
Why are the judges with allegations of corrupt practices on their heads continue to preside over corruption cases?
2. Courts are promoting unfair recruitment process in the public sector
It is pathetic that the Judiciary is promoting unfair recruitment process in public sectors. How?
According to the Office of the Ombudsman, Mr. Henry Kachaje, the Chief Executive Officer of Malawi Energy Regulatory Authority (MERA) did not meet the minimum prerequisite qualification at the time of his recruitment.
Furthermore, Mr. Kachaje is possessing a master’s degree from a diploma mill.
Why does the court protect him by giving him an injunction restraining the Office of the Ombudsman from prosecuting him?
3.Rampant unequal access to justice
It appears that justice during Chakwera’s regime is for the elite only.
It is very pathetic that convicts who have no name in the society are being heavily punished for minor offences while the elite convicts who committed serious offences are just left scot free.
It is therefore difficult to come to terms with Bakili Muluzi’s presidential pardon which dropped down his MK1.87 million corruption charges. Doesn’t this pardon promote the cancerous corruption?
4. Justice delayed is justice denied
When Chief Justice Rezine Mzikamanda took over the reign of the Judiciary, he gave people a ray of hope and expectations when he issued a formal directive that all outstanding cases had to be cleared within 90 days. Surprisingly, Muluzi’s case which had dragged for over a decade was not concluded within the said stipulated period.
5. The courts violated constitutional independence of arms of government
Much as the three arms of government must not work in isolation, they shouldn’t also interfere in the running and decision making process of one another.
Currently, in the national assembly, there are two leaders of opposition.
To make it worse, the leader of opposition in parliament, Kondwani Nankhumwa, recognised by the Speaker of National Assembly is sitting in the independent members benches.
One is tempted to ask, which main political party is Kondwani Nankhumwa leading in the August house?
The truth of the matter is that the judiciary must be blamed for granting an injunction to the leader of opposition who was not duly elected in accordance with parliamentary standing orders 35.
Kondwani Nankhumwa was handpicked by the Speaker Catherine Gotani Hara. His name was not submitted by the main opposition party but yet the court granted him an injunction restraining the main opposition party from removing him.
6. Judge shopping remains a thorn in the fresh in the Judiciary
Perhaps some of the insane verdicts come from the fact that complaiRnants manipulate the judicial system such that they decide which judge should preside over their own cases.
Unfortunately, rampant corruption in the judiciary has accelerated incidents of judge shopping.
7. Selective justice
How many convicts have been given bail? Currently, we have Hon. Ralph Kasambara and Thom Mpinganjira who were convicted of conspiracy to attempted murder and of bribery respectively but they are both on bail for over 2 years now.
Unfortunately, there is no prospect of being tried and heard any sooner than later. Should justice be meted out only to the elite? For sure, justice delayed is justice denied.
Why does it take long to conclude cases for corruption suspects who support the current Tonse Alliance government such as Newton Kambala, Kezzie Msukwa, Enock Chihana and many others?
What is special with Chilima’s bribery case that we can see that it is being heard by court when other corruption cases have stalled?
8. The office of Ombudsman is being undermined by the courts
It is mindboggling to note that the Judiciary can fight with another legitimate institution, the office of Ombudsman, over supremacy.
One wonders why the court gagged the Office of Ombudsman by granting a injunction that restrained the latter from releasing an official report.
If there was any issue with the findings of the Office of Ombudsman, the report about the unprocedural recruitment of Henry Kachaje explicitly indicated that the aggrieved parties were free to seek legal relief.
In conclusion, we implore the Judiciary to serve the citizenry with dedication and integrity.
When all the other two arms of Government have disappointed Malawians, the only hope they have is to get fair justice from the courts.
It is therefore disheartening to know that the courts are directly involved in politics, corruption and selective justice.
We therefore request the Chief Justice Rezine Mzikamanda to address the aforementioned injustices with urgency.
Disclaimer: The views expressed in the article are those of the author not necessarily of The Maravi Post or Editor
I bring to your attention an urgent matter that requires my immediate attention—the need for a retraction of a story that deeply and unfairly implicated you, Lordship Madise, Ntaba, Mdeza, and the entire Malawi Judiciary.
I cannot express enough how sincerely sorry I am for the pain and distress my words have caused.
Upon reflecting upon the article which The Maravi Post carried titled, “EXPOSED! Prominent Malawi High Court Judges Accused of Plotting Against Opposition DPP”, it has become abundantly clear to me that the content presented was not only inaccurate but also unjustly tarnished your professional reputation and personal integrity.
The intention behind this letter is to set things right, rectify the damage caused, and offer my humble apologies to all those affected.
Please understand that I take full responsibility for my actions, and I bear the weight of regret for the harm inflicted upon you.
It was never my intention to hurt or injure any individual, let alone esteemed judges like yourselves, whose dedication and wisdom are critical to upholding justice in our society.
I want to assure you that I have taken immediate and necessary steps to retract the story from all platforms and publications where it was disseminated.
Every effort is being made to correct this mistake expeditiously, and I am committed to ensuring that the retraction reaches as wide an audience as possible and the article is pulled down on the site.
More than mere words, I want to convey the depths of my remorse and the extent of my determination to make amends.
I pledge to dedicate myself to the highest standards of journalistic integrity moving forward, striving to rectify past mistakes by promoting fairness, truth, and respect for all individuals in every piece of work I produce.
Once again, I extend my sincerest apologies to each of you for the harm caused by the publication of the aforementioned story.
I hope that you can find it in your heart to forgive me and recognize my genuine commitment to learning from this experience. I am open to any suggestions or actions you may deem appropriate to make things right.
Thank you for your understanding, and please accept my heartfelt apologies.
Lazarus Chakwera visiting Former President Peter Mutharika at his home in Mangochi
Malawi’s President Lazarus Chakwera, the man with the silver tongue was once again lying to Malawians when he claimed that he did not know why former President Peter Mutharika’s accounts were frozen by his minions.
Malawians are not fools, no cabinet person even with Malawi’s overzealous judicial can do anything to a former President without a nod from the current President, however Kadingus is running away from responsibility because he has never taken any.
According to reporting by Malawi.24, Kadingus made the remarks in an interview with a local television station yesterday Saturday May 1st. According to the same reporting,
The Malawi president during the interview was asked to respond to former President Peter Mutharika’s claims that his administration is persecuting him by freezing personal accounts that are also used to process his pension and allowance payments.
In his usual response of taking no responsibility, Kadingus Chakwera said he does not even know the accounts which were frozen. He vehemently denied knowing what accounts and why they were frozen.
It is easy to prove that Lazarus is lying, Once Peter Mutharika made the accusation, any leader with a clue would have followed up with his justice department. The fact that this never happened proves he knew all along and this was done with his approval.
Continuing to lie to Malawians, however, he claimed Malawi is a country of laws and if there is evidence that laws were broken in freezing the accounts then the courts should ensure that the laws be followed and not aim at persecuting a certain person.
“Since the case is in court, the former President has all the rights to use necessary procedures to follow up on the issues,” said Chakwera.
according to the same reporting Kadingus added that he (Lazarus Chakwera) is also subject to court rulings because Malawi is guided by laws and not what a certain person says.
Former President Mutharika’s accounts were frozen by the Anti-Corruption Bureau in August last year when the bureau started investigating Mutharika over the K5 billion cement scandal where the former Malawi leader’s taxpayer pin was used to import bags of cement duty free.
The Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB) froze two accounts; one that is solely owned by the former president and another, a joint account with his wife former First Lady Gertrude Mutharika.
Efforts by Mutharika’s lawyers to have his bank accounts unfrozen have proven unsuccessful. This needs to change because No one has accused the former President of any wrongdoing. Even former Presidents deserve some deference from their successors. As President Mutharika correctly stated current President will at some point become former Presidents.
Last month, former President Peter Mutharika correctly said the government was persecuting him by freezing his accounts.
“The aim is simply to create hardship on me. Even the account where my retirement package comes in, that account is closed. So, my retirement benefits cannot come in. The idea is to make me totally incompetent financially to make me impossible to support the DPP (Democratic Progressive Party), and therefore to destroy the DPP and make a one-party dictatorship,” he said.
President Lazarus Kadingus Chakwera, stop lying to Malawians. Take responsibility.
Follow the motto of an American President who said when the decision is up before you — and on my desk I have a motto which says The Buck Stops Here’ — the decision has to be made.” In his farewell address to the American people given in January 1953, President Truman referred to this concept very specifically in asserting that, “The President–whoever he is–has .
Chief Justice Andrew Nyirenda is not going on leave
LILONGWE (MaraviPost): The new Malawi Government led by Lazarus Chakwera has chosen arrests and intimidation of opposition members as the way to begin their regime. However, this is just history repeating itself as Kamuzu Banda arrested and detained people without due process.
Aleke Banda was imprisoned under the Banda regime for no charge and this was contested by Amnesty International. In communication no. 63/92 Krishna Achuthan appealed to the Commission on behalf of his father-in-law, Aleke Banda. He had been imprisoned for 12 years without legal charge or trial. When Mr. Achuthan met with two successive heads of intelligence of Malawi, they confirmed that there was no case pending against Mr. Aleke Banda, but that he was being held “at the pleasure of the head of state (Kamuzu Banda)
From the country’s independence in 1964 until 1980, Gwanda Chakuamba was a key figure within the Malawi Congress Party (MCP), which was the sole legal political party. During the rule of President Hastings Kamuzu Banda, he held many cabinet positions and was Commander of the MCP youth group Malawi Young Pioneers.
However, Gwanda Chakuamba made the mistake of opposing John Tembo. In February 1980, Gwanda Chakuamba was charged, on the behest of Tembo and Kadzamira, with sedition and given a 22-year prison sentence. He was released from jail in July 1993, a month after voters endorsed a return to multiparty politics in a referendum.
Within the first 60 days of its rule the Chakwera led government has arrested and detained people with the flimsy of evidence. The have arrested and re-arrested people on multiple charges. As we speak Chisale remains in jail without seeing a judge going to three weeks.
As Malawians know your rights and the laws Applicable to you:
Brought to court
A person arrested and detained in custody and who is not cautioned and released, released on police bail, or released on insufficient evidence, must be brought to a court having jurisdiction as soon as is practical but not later than 48 hours after arrest, unless the 48 hours expires outside court hours, in which case the first day after the expiry of 48 hours, failing which, the constitution says he must be released (art.42.2b of the Malawi constitution).
A person arrested on Monday at 11am, who is not otherwise released within 48 hours, must be brought before court before Wednesday at 11am. A person arrested on Thursday night, if it is practical, must be brought before court on Friday; if Friday is not practical, then they must be brought to court on Monday morning, unless the person is otherwise released. The constitution does not distinguish between offences. Therefore, even homicide arrests must be brought to court within 48 hours.
Malawi Pre-trial Detention
The Malawian Constitution states that every person who is detained in Malawi shall have the right to be informed of the reason for his or her detention promptly in a language he or she understands.
Such persons are to be held under conditions consistent with human dignity and have the right to consult confidentially with a legal practitioner of his or her choice and to have visits from relatives.
The same section of the constitution determines that a detained person shall have the right to be released if such detention is unlawful
According to article (1)(c) of section 42 of Malawi’s Constitution, every person who is detained, including every sentenced prisoner, shall have the right to consult confidentially with a legal practitioner of his or her choice, to be informed of this right promptly and, where the interests of justice so require, to be provided with the services of a legal practitioner by the State.
Presumption of Innocence
Article (1)(f)(iii) of section 42 of the Malawian Constitution states that an accused person shall have the right to be presumed innocent during plea proceedings or a trial.
Our new Attorney General Dr Chikosa Silungwe, the conguring hero of the Malawi Election case
LILONGWE (MaraviPost): The Malawi elections are over and the opposition that the Malawi Judiciary favored is now in power and it is cool to force lockdown measures on the Coronavirus.
Now the HRDC is nowhere to be found when poor Malawians are being threatened with fines. Peter Mutharika did not go that far. Now they say this is the New Malawi.
Our new Attorney General Dr Chikosa Silungwe, the o ne that defended Lazarus Chakwera in the election case, says Public Health (Coronavirus and COVID-19) Prevention, Containment and Management Rules, 2020, QRE gazetted on Friday AND CAME to force on Saturday 8th August, 2020.
The FAMED, Dr. Silungwe made the announcement Sunday at a press conference held at Bingu International Convention Centre (BICC) in Lilongwe.
“What the rules have done is to convey the measures for the country to combat Covid-19, that never existed during the run up to the judiciary forced elections.
The Famed new AG claims the rules contain general preventive measures to contain the escalation of COVID-19 like wearing face masks(do not forget he is going to fine you), provide for social distance of at least one metre from each other, washing hands with soap.
The conquering AG also said gatherings of more than ten people will not be allowed except for national assembly and meetings to discuss COVID-19.
Malawians no weddings, No funerals. Apparently when Peter Mutharika said it was just rumblings from a tired old man.
The conquering AG was joined by Presidential Taskforce Co-Chairpersons Hon Khumbize Kandodo Chiponda MP, Minister of Health and Dr John Phuka Minister of Information who is also government spokesperson Hon Gospel Kazako and Dr Charles Mwansambo Secretary for Health
By the way when was injunction lifted? How are they able to enforce these measures? Malawi Judiciary, I hear you won an award for the coup you started. Where are you on this?.
The International Bar Association’s Human Rights Institute (IBAHRI) condemns the continued persecution of Constitutional Court judges in Malawi by the country’s President, Peter Mutharika, and his Democratic Progressive Party (DPP). The attacks include an attempt to remove Chief Justice Andrew Nyirenda from office ahead of a new presidential poll, scheduled to take place on 23 June 2020.
Chief Justice Andrew Nyirenda
Chief Justice Nyirenda led the Constitutional Court panel of five High Court judges that annulled President Mutharika’s 2019-election victory and ordered a rerun. Dubbed the ‘Tipp-Ex election’ – referring to a brand of white correction fluid used to alter many election tally papers – the judges found that the integrity of the ballot had been marred by ‘widespread’ irregularities. Following the decision, reports state that the DPP attempted to undermine the judges’ verdict by openly alleging they had received bribes to favour the petitioners. The Supreme Court of Appeal upheld the decision.
In a most recent assault, the Malawi Government claimed that Chief Justice Nyirenda had accumulated more leave days than the remainder of his working days until his retirement in December 2021 and should therefore step down now. This would have paved the way for President Mutharika to appoint a new chief justice, had high court judges not granted injunctions thwarting the move.
Furthermore, President Mutharika, in his State of the Nation address on 4 June 2020, criticised the judiciary for a perceived lack of accountability, disputed the nullification ruling, and portrayed the judiciary as the enemy of democracy with statements including: ‘Nullifying elections is nullifying the will of the people.’
IBAHRI Co-Chair, the Hon Michael Kirby AC CMG, who served as one of the independent Co-Chairs of the 1994 Malawi Constitutional Conference commented: ‘President Mutharika is a distinguished and experienced lawyer. Therefore, he should understand the vital importance of upholding the integrity and independence of the judiciary. His attacks on court rulings are simply unacceptable. President Mutharika must recall his country’s 1994 adoption of multi-party democracy and reflect on the successes since that time in maintaining and defending an independent judiciary.’ He added: ‘The 2019 presidential election demonstrably contained manifest flaws. Consequently, the orders of the Supreme Court should be obeyed and upheld. We call on President Mutharika to respect the rule of law, comply with the Constitution and desist from attacking the judiciary.’
The IBAHRI reminds President Mutharika of Malawi’s obligations under domestic and international legislation to preserve the rule of law: Section 103 of the Constitution of Malawi states: ‘all courts and all persons presiding over those courts shall exercise their functions, powers and duties independent of the influence and direction of any other person or authority’; The principles of the Charter of the Commonwealth (the Charter) provide respect for the independence of the judiciary and the rule of law. In particular: Article I recognises ‘the inalienable right of individuals to participate in democratic processes, in particular through free and fair elections in shaping the society in which they live’; Article VI by which Malawi and all other Commonwealth Heads of Government affirmed, ‘the importance of maintaining the integrity of the roles of the Legislature, Executive and Judiciary. These are the guarantors in their respective spheres of the rule of law, the promotion and protection of fundamental human rights, and adherence to good governance’; and Article VII that pledges support for ‘an independent, impartial, honest and confident judiciary’.
IBAHRI Co-Chair and immediate past Secretary General of the Swedish Bar Association, Anne Ramberg Dr jur hc, stated: ‘The personal attacks against judges must be halted immediately because they damage and diminish the public’s regard for the judiciary; an institution that should be considered a pillar of a properly functioning society. It needs to be widely understood that an independent judiciary is fundamental to the rule of law, which upholds the guarantee of human rights, in democratic societies. Intimidation should not be inflicted on judges for performing their judicial duty.’ She added: ‘ The importance of free and fair elections for the economic wellbeing, as well as the human rights, of the people of Malawi will be seriously damaged unless the country returns to compliance with its Constitution and conformity with international human rights law. The IBAHRI urges a swift return
There has always been a tendency in Malawi to underestimate President Peter Mutharika because he is soft spoken and more deliberate than his firebrand brother Former President Bingu WA Mutharika.
Joyce Banda was the first to learn that lesson. When Bingu asked her and the party to support Peter as the heir apparent, Joyce Banda revolted and become President by default. However, her Presidency was short lived as she lost to Mutharika in the 2014 Elections.
Saulos Chilima made the same mistake and lost.
The Malawi Judiciary has decided to join the fray by ruling against Mutharika at every step forcing this election do-over. They have forced a 50 plus 1 and an alliance of many parties in Malawi with no common agendas except one, Un sit Peter Mutharika at any cost.
However twice now Peter Mutharika has shown a better reading of the Malawi voter than his opponents including experienced politicians such as Former President Joyce Banda.
When he picked Saulos Chilima many in the DPP scoffed, why would he pick someone with no political experience. Peter Mutharika proved them wrong and he prevailed.
When he picked Everton Chimulirenji the same was said, how can you pick someone who can hardly speak English. He once again prevailed until the Judiciary decided to join in the fray.
He has now settled for Atupele Muluzi knowing he has to get over 50% to be declared winner. Does he have another surprise for the Malawi Electorate?
In the next few days of the campaigning he has promised to crisscross the country. According to reports President Professor Arthur Peter Mutharika will embark on a country wide tour beginning as follows:
On Wednesday, 17th June 2020, the President will depart Blantyre for Lilongwe and make a stopover at Ntcheu Boma at 12:00 o’clock.
At 3 O’clock, the Malawi leader will address people at Biwi Triangle in the city of Lilongwe.
A statement from the Office of President and Cabinet (OPC) says on Thursday, 18th June, the President will at 11 O’clock address people at Mzimba Boma.
Later the same day at 2 O’clock, the Malawi leader will be at Chitipa Boma and finally at 4 O’clock the President will address people at Karonga Boma.
Does Peter Mutharika have another surprise for his foes? remains to be seen
Elwin Mandowa is the Founder and Managing Editor of The Maravi Post
” l feel the urge to comment on the statement by the Association of judges. I think this is an attempt to gag free speech and scare people in submission. Judges should know that Malawi is a free society with freedom of speech enshrined in our statutes.
The judges should not be immune to criticism. Criticism is valid and should be made. Judges are public officers and they should be subjected to scrutiny.
Judges are not super humans, they are just as human as all of us and can error that is the more reason we have several levels of the courts where one would appeal. What happens in the upper court is to analyse the decision of the lower court.
People should distinguish between challenging the judges and criticising the judges.
As citizens we have the right to send messages to our judges. The courts in Malawi have seized jurisdiction not rightly theirs and appear to have overriding powers and this has the danger of decrementing our democracy and separation of power.
The president was right to urge parliament to curtail this unwarranted powers being welded by the judges and it has the potential of creating judicial dictatorship.
Parliament as people’s representatives should move in fast to work out remedial action to prevent future usurpation.
The judiciary in Malawi has flagrantly usurped jurisdiction where they are seen to be petitioners and judges.
It is a tragedy to believe that judges in Malawi are divine but judges are just fellow morals and carry their own prejudices and emotions
The opportunity to criticise judges is vastly important as it helps them to reform in order to serve people better.
The judiciary should be prepared to listen.
Can you imagine we have Chanco law school and all these judges were trained from there yet we have different opinions on a similar subject and why should judges think that their pronouncement is Devine and cannot be criticized?
Our judges told us that 50+1 is already is our constitution. Why did the framers choose to make it vague? Why not just say majority means one who gets 50+1 of the total votes cast. If they had 50+1 as the interpretation for majority, I am surely they were wise enough and should have provided guidance for a rerun.
I recall Tembenu once presented a bill on 50+1 which was defeated. Do you mean this was a fruitless effort to present a bill when it was already in our constitution?
Public Affairs Committee (PAC), Civil Society Organisation (CSOs) and Human Rights Defenders Coalition (HRDC) were demonstrating and even threatened to conduct vigil at parliament until the 50+1 bill was passed. Would you convince me all these efforts were in vein?
We have two eminent lawyers who were participating in the law commission conferences that was discussing 50+1 and these wise lawyer did not tell the conference delegates that 50+1 was already in the constitution and should not be discussed but what was concluded at that conference was that majority in the constitution meant one who obtained more votes than the other by simple majority in what is called first past the post.
The views expressed in this article are the writer’s, do not reflect the views of The Maravi Post
BLANTYRE-(MaraviPost)- The Blantyre Chief Resident Magistrate Court on Monday, granted bail to the Judiciary Spokesperson Mlenga Mvula, and Reverend Daniel Mhone, on charges of soliciting bribes with church officials amounting to MK10.7 million
Mlenga Mvula: Free for now
The development quashes ACB’s application to continue keeping the two in custody; the graft fighting body argues that it had not yet recorded a caution statement from the two accused.
The two have been granted bail on the seven conditions including; to present themselves to ACB at 8 am on Tuesday for cautioning, pay MK25,000 bail-bond in cash each, and bring one surety of MK100,000 in non-cash each.
The Court also ordered the two to surrender their travel documents to ACB, and to present themselves to ACB once every fortnight, until the conclusion of the case; lastly they are to to be present during trial and not to interfere with witnesses.
Mvula was arrested by ACB last Friday and spent two nights in custody at Blantyre Police Station, while Mhone was arrested on Monday.
During the bail application, Chief Resident Magistrate Simeon Mdeza, told the Court that the two were brought before Court to be informed on why the State wanted to continue keeping them in custody, and to notify them of the charges laid against them.
Representing ACB, Macmillan Chakhala, told the Court they had not yet taken caution statements from the two accused persons because ACB was busy interviewing witnesses for the case. However, defense lawyer Chancy Gondwe argued that the two, like any suspect, had a right to be released on bail as provided for in section 42 (2) of the Republican Constitution.
“When it comes to issues to do with the release of accused persons on bail, it is a fundamental right. The State has not made sufficient presentation on why the accused persons should not be released on bail,” Gondwe said.
“The fact that the State has failed to record a caution statement from the accused persons, should not be a ground to deny them bail,” he stated, adding that pre-trial detention should not be used as punishment to the accused persons.
Mdeza then adjourned the case to a later date, when the accused persons will be formerly charged and make their pleas. However, he said the Court will await directions from ACB as to when it will be ready.
ACB through a press statement, dated September 1 and signed by its senior public relations officer Egrita Ndala, recorded that in 2016 and 2017, Mvula, on several occasions, demanded money amounting to MK10.7 million from the United Methodist Church through Reverend Daniel Mhone, the Executive Church Member and Conference Superintendent.
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