Court revokes Mphwiyo’s bail

The High Court of Malawi on Friday revoked former budget director Paul Mphwiyo’s bail following his failure to report for bail since June 2023.

Subsequently, the court has also ordered for his re-arrest.

Mphwiyo, who is answering corruption charges related to Cashgate, is alleged to have fled the country in June this year just as the High Court had earlier indicated that it would deliver its ruling on the matter.

On Friday, the court heard an application by the Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB) that Mphwiyo has not been reporting for bail since June 2023 as per his bail conditions.

ACB spokesperson Egrita Ndala said in a brief statement on Friday that the bureau wanted the court to act on Mphwiyo’s bail abscondment as per dictates of the law.

She said: “The court has, therefore, made a ruling revoking Mr Paul Mphwiyo’s bail and that he should be arrested whenever and wherever he will be found.”

According to Ndala, the court also ordered that Mphwiyo’s K10 million bail bond and that of his two sureties who were each bonded at K2 million be forfeited to the Malawi Government.

Besides, Mphwiyo also bonded his Area 43 residential house in Lilongwe.

His wife reported on June 26 that her husband was missing and there were suggestions that he may have crossed Malawi’s borders.

And on September 23 2023, Mphwiyo’s lawyer Michael Goba Chipeta told The Nation in an interview that he was going to ask the court to discharge him from the case on the basis that he cannot represent a client who does not exist.

In 2015, High Court Judge Charles Mkandawire ordered that Mphwiyo should travel to South Africa for medical attention on July 19 and return by August 2 the same year.

But upon his return, Mphwiyo did not surrender his passport to the ACB. However, the ACB has up to date not given an explanation why it did not enforce the bail condition to have the passport back.

Mphwiyo’s disappearance comes at a time the High Court is expected to deliver judgement at a date yet to be set for the Cashgate case which concluded last year.