ACB speaks on Sattar-linked cases

The Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB) says it is ready for all cases related to UK-based businessperson Zunneth Sattar and is only waiting for courts to set dates for hearing.

In a response to a questionnaire on Monday this week, ACB spokesperson Egrita Ndala said for the cases moved to the newly-established Financial and Economic Crimes Court, the graft-busting body has been waiting for a date and judge to be assigned.

She cited the case of former minister of Lands Kezzie Msukwa, which is in the appeal court. No date has been set after Supreme Court judge Frank Kapanda stayed the ruling of the High Court seven months ago pending a hearing in the appeal court.

Said Ndala: “When the Supreme Court gives us a date for Msukwa case we will be available. This is also true for the rest of the cases. So, it would be good if you also ask the courts and, especially on the matter referred to the newly-established Financial and Economic Crimes Court. But it should be noted that the bureau is ready with those cases.”

Msukwa was arrested in June last year on allegations that he facilitated illegal sales of land to Sattar at the time he was Minister of Lands. He is alleged to have received millions of kwacha and a vehicle for the dubious deals.

Ndala said the criminal proceedings against Msukwa were stayed mainly on the ground that ACB received the evidence from the United Kingdom’s National Crimes Agency (NCA) illegally. “Hon Msukwa challenged this matter in the High Court and the court agreed with our position that we received the evidence legally. Hon Msukwa however appealed to the Supreme Court which has since stayed the ruling of the High Court pending a full appeal. We are waiting for the courts to set the dates for this.”

Meanwhile, the Msukwa case is not on a fixed cause list of Supreme Court of Appeal for the January to April 2023 session which Weekend Nation has seen. The document is signed by assistant registrar Chapita Banda.

In a telephone interview on Wednesday Msukwa’s lawyer Chimwemwe Kalua confirmed that the case is not on a list of cases to be heard by the Supreme Court of Appeal during this session.

Said Kalua: “According to a list of cases which was published in the newspapers for this session, it is not one of them.”

When asked, High Court of Malawi and Supreme Court of Appeal registrar Kondwani Banda asked for more time to comment on the delays to set dates for the cases.

Commenting on the case of former Inspector General George Kainja, who the bureau arrested on June 23 2022 for allegedly receiving bribes from Sattar to influence the awarding of a contract to him to supply 350 000 food ration packs, Ndala also said the bureau is also waiting for the courts to set a date.

She indicated that the graft-busting body wrote registrar of the High Court and Supreme Court reminding him on the need to have the case assigned a date and for it to be assigned to a new judge of the Financial and Economic Crimes Court.

The former police chief, just like Msukwa, applied for judicial review of the bureau’s decision to arrest him based on foreign evidence connecting him to Sattar.

According to Ndala, the bureau also needed to transfer the cases of Kainja, and other suspects arrested in Mzuzu, Zomba or Blantyre to Lilongwe by making formal applications before the courts.

She added that ACB has transferred all but one case which is pending formal court directions.

“That said, you may also be aware that the applicants also filed an application for judicial review largely based on the same issue of how we received evidence. However, before the substantive issues for judicial review could be heard, the matter was transferred to the newly-established Financial and Economic Crimes Court.”

On Vice-President Saulos Chilima’s case, Ndala said the bureau is currently working on an application to commit the matter to the Financial and Economic Crimes Court.

The move follows a decision by the former Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) Steven Kayuni who barred the appointment of prominent lawyer Modecai Msisha SC to lead prosecution on this matter.

Chilima, who was arrested on November 25 2022, was slapped with six counts of corruption for allegedly receiving a $280 000 (about K290 million) bribe from Sattar to secure government contracts.

ACB also described as complex investigations into how former president Peter Mutharika’s taxpayer identification number (TPIN) was deceitfully used by other individuals and the case of businessperson Abdul Karim Batatawala and others.

The TPIN was used to import of K5 billion worth of 800 000 bags of cement from Zambia and Zimbabwe, a development that also led to the arrest of Mutharika’s personal bodyguard Norman Chisale and State Residences chief of staff Peter Mukhito.

Ndala said the bureau concluded its investigation into the TPIN case and was waiting for the new DPP Masauko Chamkakala to decide on how the two offices can move with the case.

In the Batatawala case the accused are answering charges of conspiracy to defraud government by allegedly inflating the market price of lockers the Department of Immigration procured from his firm.

According to Ndala, the lawyer for Batatawala on January 25 2023 raised a number of objections to the charges and prayed for discharge of some counts. But due to time, ACB responded to the issues raised the following day.

She explained that the court in its ruling dismissed the application to discharge some counts on January 26 2023, which led the defence to raise the issue of wanting to refer the matter to the Constitutional Court.

Said Ndala: “We will address the court on this issue mid-February. These are some of the issues we face when prosecuting such big complex cases and thus the delays that such cases face. On our part we are always pushing these cases to completion.”