The Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB) is assessing if there is merit in investigating allegations that businessman Zuneth Sattar is paying school fees for some judges’ children.
ACB spokesperson Egrita Ndala said this on Thursday after Forum for National Development (FND) asked the bureau to probe the claims which social media influencer Onjezani Kenani posted on his Facebook page last month.
“Sattar pays school fees for children of two judges, one at the High Court and another at the Supreme Court of Appeal. We know these judges. If anyone of them touches the Sattar case, we will raise hell until they recuse themselves,” wrote the former Malawi Writers Union president.
In a letter filed to the Chief Justice and ACB dated December 20 2021, FND says the “judges capture” allegations were serious and worth an investigation.
Reads the letter in part: “The allegation undermines the impartiality and integrity of the Judiciary in Malawi. It is only prudent that this matter must be cleared. Mr. Stanley Onjezani Kenani is one of the influential persons in Malawi in as far as opinion shaping is concerned and an allegation coming from such an individual cannot just be dismissed.
“It is our considered view that Mr. Kenani must be summoned to substantiate the claims and make a public disclosure of the justices that have been compromised.”
In an interview on Thursday, Ndala acknowledged receiving the FND letter and said the claims will be assessed before any action is taken.
She said: “The bureau received this letter as a copy recipient. The bureau will review it as it does with all complaints. This is done to see if there is merit to warrant action by the bureau.”
When contacted, High Court of Malawi and Malawi Supreme Court of Appeal registrar Gladys Gondwe asked for more time and promised to call back but did not. She could also not pick up our later calls.
Sattar is under investigation by ACB in collaboration with Britain’s National Crime Agency over the award of multi-million-dollar public contracts to his firms.
On November 1 2021, the ACB issued a notice to Malawi Defence Forces and Malawi Police Service restricting them from dealing with contracts awarded to some firms, including Xelite Stripes Limited, Xavier and Mallachite FZE linked to the claimants.
Under a fortnight ago, Minister of Lands Kezzie Msukwa and Sattar’s business partner Ashok Nair were arrested in connection with alleged corrupt land deals. Msukwa, who is also member of Parliament for Chitipa East (Malawi Congress Party), is suspected to have committed three counts of corrupt use of official power in relation to allocation of plots to Sattar, according to the particulars of his arrest warrant.
