Youth and Society (YAS) has queried Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) Masauko Chamkakala about his office’s inaction one year after a parliamentary committee recommended revival of a case against Paramount Holdings Limited directors.
In a letter dated June 15 2025, YAS executive director Charles Kajoloweka observed that Legal Affairs Committee of Parliament resolved that the case should be reinstated to allow the courts, not the Executive, determine the matter on its merits.
He said as a watchdog, YAS was concerned that over 12 months after the lapse of the 30-day period with which the DPP was supposed to reopen the case, there is no public communication, action or indication that the prosecuting authority’s office has acted on the committee’s resolution.
Reads the demand letter: “We, therefore, request the following from your office: A detailed account of the actions your office has taken in response to the Legal Affairs Committee’s resolution dated 24 May 2024.
“If the case has not been reinstated, a clear explanation for the failure or delay, including how such inaction aligns with your constitutional obligations and accountability to Parliament.”
In the letter, Kajoloweka also drew Chamkakala’s attention to the fact that the integrity and public confidence in the DPP’s office rested on the transparent and principled execution of its prosecutorial duties.
YAS’s letter comes after Luthando Holdings, an interested party in the matter and Yamaha motorcycles franchise, through its executive director Hendrix Laher, wrote Parliament on March 13 2025 asking why there was silence on the matter.
Details of the case, according to the charge sheet, are that three directors of Paramount Holdings Limited in August 2020 allegedly made a false document showing that Paramount Holdings was an authorised dealer of Yamaha motorcycles in Malaŵi on behalf of Yamaha Motor Company Limited of Japan when the same was not true.
The three directors are identified as Prakash Virgi Ghedia, Arvindkumar Atit Patel and Suresh Khimji Jagatiya. They are accused, along with Paramount Holdings, of three charges related to government procurement deals, notably conspiracy to commit a felony contrary to Section 404 of the Penal Code, making a false document contrary to Section 353 of the Penal Code and uttering a false document contrary to Section 360 of the Penal Code.
Chamkakala discontinued the case, but the Legal Affairs Committee, then chaired by Peter Dimba who is now Minister of Labour, met Chamkakala on May 21 2024 and wrote a letter through Clerk of Parliament Fiona Kalemba to have the case revived.
In the letter, the committee said it was not satisfied with the reasons presented in the discontinuance certificate for criminal case number 868 of 2023.
Reads the letter: “The committee recommends that the case be reinstated within 30 working days, as the authenticity of the dealership document for Paramount Holdings could not be ascertained; hence, the court should decide on the matter.”
Yesterday, Chamkakala did not respond to our query.
On the other hand, private practice lawyer Senior Counsel Marshall Chilenga, representing Paramount Holdings, said there was “no recommencement of the action after discontinuance”.
When contacted, Legal Affairs Committee chairperson Albert Mbawala asked for time to respond on the matter.
Section 99(2e and 3) of the Constitution empowers the DPP to discontinue any criminal proceedings at any stage before judgement, but is required to give reasons to the Legal Affairs Committee of Parliament within 10 days for purposes of accountability.
Section 247(2) of the Criminal Procedure and Evidence Code also provides for 12 months within which a case can be resuscitated.
