Court revokes, reverses bail for Cashgate suspect

The High Court in Lilongwe yesterday reversed an earlier ruling to revoked bail for Cashgate suspect Leonard Kalonga after he failed to show up for court to start defending himself.

The former Ministry of Tourism official is facing charges of theft and money laundering of K105 million from government and has been found with a case to answer.

Kalonga irked High Court Judge Fiona Mwale when his lawyer failed to bring evidence of his illness.

The judge, however, reserved her earlier decision following an appeal.

The bail was revoked without hearing applications or responses from the prosecution or defence because Kalonga’s stand-in lawyer, Manuel Theu, was late for court.

Earlier in the day, Mwale had adjourned the court for close to two hours to allow the two sides prepare for the application.

Kalonga and Angela Katengeza were expected to start defending themselves in theft and money laundering charges.

Mwale was not pleased when Theu informed the court that his client was admitted to Dae Yung Luke Hospital.

She also rejected the defence’s application for adjournment in the absence of lead counsel Joseph Kamkwasi who was attending a funeral.

Meanwhile, Katengeza in her defence, told the court that Kalonga approached her on July 3 2013 asking to use the construction certificates of her company, Faith Construction, to get jobs within the Ministry of Tourism.