Dausi rebuts Chaponda
Minister of Information and Communications Technology Nicholas Dausi has denied claims by former minister of Agriculture, Irrigation and Water Development George Chaponda that K95 million seized from his residence belonged to Democratic Progressive Party (DPP).
Dausi has also denied assertions that he was meant to collect the money which Chaponda alleged was to be donated to the ruling party.
The Information Minister, who met with Chaponda face-to-face at Lilongwe Magistrate’s Court, informed the court that the former minister must have been confused to drag him into the issue.
He said: “As regards me knowing anything about the money, the answer is ‘no’. Maybe he was confused to mention me because the strength and stamina when one is faced with a situation like this, whether an MP or Cabinet minister, in such a situation, it’s no use.”
Chaponda kept looking at Dausi from the dock opposite him while the Information Minister focused his gaze on Zomba chief resident magistrate Paul Chiotcha.
During cross-examination, Chaponda’s lawyer Tamando Chokotho tried to salvage the situation by building a profile of the dismissed minister, who is also DPP vice-president for the Southern Region, as a wealthy person.
The lawyer cited over three instances whereby Chaponda donated in excess of K3 million to the party by hiring a band and providing a stage during party rallies.
Chokotho also sought the opinion of Dausi on whether he would be surprised to learn that Chaponda has been donating a lot of money to the DPP and has a number of properties, to which Dausi answered that he was fully aware of Chaponda’s financial status.
In fact, Dausi told the court, one of Chaponda’s sons once paid for all lodging and food expenses for the Information Minister and other party officials’ visit to the United States of America (USA).
The lawyer also explained that his client in 2014 pledged to donate K40 million to his party after he sold some property in Lilongwe to Mayflower worth K300 million and that part of the money is what Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB) officers confiscated in February 2017.
He produced documents of the sale agreement to prove his case, but ACB principal State prosecutor Imran Saidi reminded the defence team that Chaponda is being accused of giving false testimony to the bureau that the K95 million seized belonged to DPP.
The State and the defence team also tussled on why Chaponda kept declaring the property as his own to the office of Director of Public Prosecution (DPP) if indeed it was sold, to which Chokotho said it was because not all payment had been made.
Meanwhile, a political analyst Henry Chingaipe has observed that the stand taken by Dausi is also that of the DPP, arguing that the minister must have consulted party officials on whether to distance itself from the claims or exonerate Chaponda.
According to Chingaipe, the fired minister dragged the party into the issue with the hope that it would scare away prosecuting agencies.
He explained that there is a notion that people who side with the party in government are spared from being pounced on by police and other agencies, and that by dissociating from Chaponda, the DPP wants to demonstrate that it is serious in the fight against graft.
Said Chingaipe: “It is clear that the party doesn’t want to have anything to do with this case. It is a personal matter and the DPP has left Chaponda alone.”
Hearing of the case will continue in Zomba on March 6 2018.
