Court rebuffs Transglobe directors on probe
The High Court of Malawi has dismissed with costs an application by five co-directors of Transglobe Produce Export Limited to stop police from instituting criminal investigations against them.
In his ruling delivered on Friday, High Court Judge Kenyatta Nyirenda said the application failed because it was an abuse of court processes, as such lacked merit.
Reads part of the ruling: “In view of the foregoing and by reason thereof, the court is satisfied that the application for stay of enforcement lacks merit and it has all the hallmarks of abuse of court processes.
“Accordingly, the application for stay of enforcement is dismissed with costs. It is so ordered.”
The application by the five Transglobe Produce Export Limited co-directors, namely Salim Tayub, Farvez Tayub, Rashid Tayub, Hamuza Tayub and Nasser Sattar, comes against the background of the same court’s decision to dismiss an injunction and application for judicial review.
The co-directors wanted the court to stay enforcement of the decision by the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) and Malawi Police Service to arrest and prosecute them due to contractual obligations with the Export Development Fund (EDF).
The court processes followed instructions that DPP Steven Kayuni made to Inspector General (IG) of Police in May this year that the five co-directors must be probed for their firm’s alleged involvement in the abuse of K12.8 billion at EDF.
In the judicial review cause number 21 of 22, the five co-directors further claimed that there was no impropriety in the way Transglobe Produce Export Limited performed its duties and carried on its business as per the agreements it had with EDF.
Apart from that, the five co-directors also claimed that EDF never brought it to their attention that neither them nor their firm had any of such dubious dealings that has led to the loss of funds that Transglobe Produce Export Limited borrowed from EDF.
But in his counter argument, Attorney General (AG) Thabo Chakaka Nyirenda argued that the Transglobe co-directors have not yet been arrested or prosecuted as the police are only investigating them so that they can determine whether to effect arrests and prosecution.
In his ruling, the judge said the application brought before the court by the Transglobe co-directors was not properly grounded; hence, dismissing it with costs.
