Court dismisses Chisale bid to halt forfeiture case

The High Court of Malawi has dismissed an application by former president Peter Mutharika’s private bodyguard Norman Chisale to stop civil proceedings in a case in which the State wants his assets worth K5 billion forfeited.

Making the ruling in Blantyre yesterday, High Court of Malawi Judge Mike Tembo said he agreed with the State that there was no question suitable for referral to the Chief Justice for certification of the matter as constitutional.

To safeguard Chisale’s right to remain silent, the judge said the evidence in the civil proceedings given by him would not be used in the criminal proceedings.

The State believes Chisale has properties and cash in bank accounts, currently frozen by the State, not proportional to his earnings and wants him to explain how he acquired the wealth.

In the application filed through his lawyer Chancy Gondwe, Chisale feared that the civil case would violate his constitutional right to remain silent, which he is exercising in another criminal case.

The lawyer also asked the court, hearing the case virtually through Zoom platform, to refer the matter to the Chief Justice for certification as a constitutional matter.

But Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) Steven Kayuni and Attorney General (AG) Thabo Chakaka-Nyirenda objected to the application, describing it as baseless.

Chisale, unsatisfied with the outcome, has since instructed his lawyer to appeal the ruling in the Malawi Supreme Court of Appeal.

Other State agencies involved in pursuing the cases against Chisale are Assets Forfeiture Unit, Financial Intelligence Authority, Anti-Coruption Bureau and Malawi Police Service Fiscal and Fraud Department.

But through his lawyers led by Chauncy Gondwe, Chisale asked the Constitutional Court to determine whether the preservation order is not a violation of his rights and those of other accused in the case to privacy and to own property.

Last year, Chisale also lost property worth K1.7 billion after the High Court in Lilongwe granted government an order to seize them