Circus on Chizuma
The circus on Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB) director general Martha Chizuma continues with the court setting February 8 2023 for taking plea on two counts from her leaked audio.
One of Chizuma’s lawyers Paul Nkhutabasa informed the Chief Resident Magistrate’s Court in Lilongwe on Friday that the Anti– Corruption Bureau (ACB) boss could not come to court because she was tied up with other official duties related to the Batatawala case in Blantyre.
In her ruling, chief resident magistrate Madalitso Chimwaza nodded to the application for the adjournment, saying it was inevitable.
When the court began hearing on Friday, the State led by Levison Mangani, decried the delays by the defence team, arguing that when they were first served with notice of hearing Chizuma’s lawyer Martha Kaukonde had protested about short notice.
According to him, it was surprising that after serving the defence the second time, Chizuma was still not available to take plea.
But Nkhutabasa wondered why the State seemed to be in a hurry to bring the accused to court when the second notice was only served a day earlier.
He said Nkhutabasa: “Her [Chizuma’s] absence is not deliberate. The court in Blantyre set trial for Batatawala from January 23 to January 27. Why is the State acting quickly?”
Nkhutabasa also requested the State to make full disclosures about the charges so that they can appreciate the nature of the cases, to which the State said they will do by Tuesday next week.
He said: “Once we appreciate the nature of the charges, then we can guide the accused person on how to plead. We are also appreciating the contents of the charge sheet and we will take up a position in due course.”
According to the charge sheet, the first count is “making use of speech to lower the authority of a person before whom a judicial proceeding is being heard,” which the State claims is against Section 113 (d) of the Penal Code. “That authority,” says the summons “is Justice Simeon Mdeza, whom it says Chizuma suggests took a bribe”.
The second count is “making use of speech capable of prejudicing a person against a party to judicial proceedings by indicating in the audio that former Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) Steven Kayuni is corrupt and compromised”.
Nkhutabasa also informed the court that annual licences for some of the defence lawyers are expiring on January 31 2023, adding that the adjournment would allow them to renew the documents and not be in court illegally when the hearing resumes.
The fresh lawsuit filed against Chizuma over the leaked audio has stirred debate on whether she may face interdiction with criminal charges hanging over her head.
But veteran prosecutor Kamudoni Nyasulu said in an interview on Thursday that the Malawi Public Service Regulations (MPSR) can only be invoked where the charges are sound.
He said: “The facts would tell whether the charges are sound or defective. Even then interdiction would be based not just on the charges but also on the facts that form the basis of the charges.”
Following Chizuma’s controversial arrest on December 6 2022, after Kayuni lodged a complaint with the police, the United States of America threatened economic sanctions against Malawi if authorities did not release her unconditionally.
Before the latest charges against Chizuma, private citizen Frighton Phompho also moved the court in Mzuzu to open a case against the ACB chief on allegations that she violated the Corrupt Practices Act (CPA) by revealing to a third-party information about United Kingdom-based businessperson Zuneth Sattar, who is under investigations for corruption.
Sattar’s business associate Ashok Kumar Sreedharan also sued Chizuma for alleging that money changed hands to have Ashok released after an arrest.
Some of the notable faces at the court on Friday included Youth and Society executive director Charles Kajoloweka and Centre for Social Accountability and Transparency executive director Willy Kambwandira.
