T
he Mzuzu Senior Resident Magistrate’s Court has sentenced three Ecobank Malawi Limited former employees to between two and 12 years jail terms after finding them guilty for stealing K129.9 million.
The three, John Madalitso Chizunza, Peter Chiwaula and Kelvin Maseko, committed the crime while working at Mzuzu Ecobank Branch between May and June 2022, according to court records.
They were charged with six counts of fraudulent false accounting and theft by servant contrary to sections 335(a) and 278 of the Penal Code.
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Handing down the sentences on Friday, senior resident magistrate Ashford Harawa sentenced Chizunza to 12 years imprisonment on the offence of theft by servant while the whole trio was sentenced to two years imprisonment on the offence of fraudulent false accounting.
The sentences for Chizunza will run concurrently, according to the magistrate.
In an interview after the sentencing, Ecobank Limited lawyer Gabriel Chembezi said he was satisfied.
“I am satisfied with the punishment meted out by the court. It serves as a stark reminder that crime does not pay,” he said.
However, there was no immediate reaction from counsel Victor Gondwe who represented Chizunza in the case.
The court heard that for some time, Chizunza was in a money lending business (katapila) where he was using Ecobank’s money to lend out to people, especially contractors who did not meet requirements to qualify for the bank’s official loans.
It was stated in court that Chizunza and Chiwaula, in May and June 2022, were branch manager and bank teller, respectively, and with intent to defraud, falsified bank account number 5475000003881 belonging to Sanaa Cash ‘n’ Carry.
The two allegedly transferred from the account K110 million without the knowledge and authority of the account holder, in the process defrauding Ecobank K110 million.
The court further learnt that on June 3 2022, Maseko withdrew K19.9 million from Zanak Pharmaceutical’s bank account but the transaction was not authorised by Zanak, forcing the bank to refund the misappropriated amount to Zanak.
Trial started in October 2022 and the State paraded 15 witnesses to secure conviction.
