The Chief Resident Magistrate’s Court in Lilongwe on Thursday slammed the State for obtaining an arrest warrant for Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) vice-president (Centre) Alfred Gangata at a Child Justice Court instead of a magistrate court.
In his ruling when granting bail to Gangata, chief resident magistrate Austin Banda said the Child Justice Court handles cases involving children and has no jurisdiction over matters like Gangata’s.
Gangata was arrested on Monday over allegations of possessing a fake Malawi School Certificate of Education (MSCE).
The court also criticised the police for transferring Gangata between Nkukula Magistrate’s Court in Lumbadzi and Lilongwe Court unnecessarily, despite the case file being submitted to Lilongwe Court by 1pm on Tuesday.
Reads the ruling in part: “Jurisdiction of a court is important, and the integrity of the justice system is paramount because it has to run on trust.
“The business of the Child Justice Court is to do with children, not the case before the court. It’s difficult to say much more, but what the police did is unfortunate and embarrassing to the court. This has the potential to erode the public’s trust in the Judiciary.”
The court also gave the State seven days to make full disclosures to the accused and the defence, saying there were inconsistencies on the charge sheet and on the warrant of arrest.
The State on Wednesday withdrew the charge sheet, saying it needed to be amended.
“The accused has the right to object to charges on the sheet. Charges should be made known to the accused from the onset,” reads the ruling.
The court also addressed State concerns about alleged witness tampering and urged the police to ensure that witnesses are fully safeguarded.
The court adopted some of Gangata’s bail conditions from an on-going tax fraud case—where he is accused of presenting a falsified Malawi Revenue Authority (MRA) document.
Additions to the fresh bail conditions include revising sureties if the tax case concludes. Gangata is also required to report to police apart from MRA or that the two public offices should liaise on where the suspect should be reporting.
Gangata has also been asked to post a new K1 million cash bond and that his travelling documents will be handed to the Chief Resident Magistrate Court if the tax case concludes earlier.
In an interview after the ruling, one of the defence lawyers Khwima Mchizi said they will wait for the State’s disclosures and fresh charge sheet, adding that they will object to any issues later.
Scores of DPP supporters, including senior party officials, attended the proceedings and there was jubilation and chanting after Gangata was granted bail.
During hearing of the bail application on Wednesday, the State and defence tussled over claims of witness tampering and police incompetence.
Police investigator McLucky Kamphandira claimed that police ‘intelligence’ showed that Gangata mobilised agents to interfere with witnesses.
He argued: “If he could do this while in custody, imagine what he will do outside. We don’t want a situation whereby our witnesses [would] not be able to come to court because they have been palm-oiled or sent away.”
But defence lawyer Zwelithini Chipembere grilled Kamphandira over why police initially sought a search warrant but secured an arrest order instead.
Kamphandira struggled to explain the shift, but admitted that police had, indeed, applied for a search warrant.
