DPP to explain discontinued cases May 20
Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) Masauko Chamkakala will on May 20 meet the Legal Affairs Committee o f Parliament to provide reasons for the discontinuance of a number of cases.
Committee chairperson Peter Dimba in an interview yesterday confirmed that the DPP was called to account for the exercise of his powers in accordance with Section 101 (2) of the Constitution when the scheduled first quarter committee meetings start.
He said: “The DPP will appear before the committee as he normally does to account for the exercise of his powers in accordance with Section 101 (2) of the Constitution when the scheduled first quarter committee meeting commences on 20th May.”
Under the law, the DPP has powers to discontinue any criminal proceedings at any stage before judgement and is required to give reasons to the committee within 10 days for purposes of accountability.
The committee has recently come under pressure from some institutions which queried
the discontinuance of cases without informing the public of the reasons.
Dimba, for instance, said the committee met officials from Luthando Holdings on April 12 who queried the justification for the discontinuation of cases.
He said: “Yes, the requested meeting took place, but we are handling the matter in camera [as provided for in our standing orders] and when we get to its logical conclusion, you
will be informed of the outcome.”
In the request for the meeting dated Apri l 9, Luthando Holdings managing director Hendrix Laher said they wanted to meet the committee to appreciate its role in holding the DPP accountable for its exercise of constitutional powers.
High-profile cases discontinued the past 12 months include the K1.7 billion corruption case involving former president Bakili Muluzi. The DPP already presented a report to the committee on the Muluzi case and, also, gave an account for the discontinuance.
The other cases are the K16.5 billion tax-evasion case involving Mapeto David Whitehead and Sons (DWS) Limited executives and two Malawi Revenue Authority (MRA) customs officers, the State versus former vice-president Cassim Chilumpha and the State versus three directors of Paramount Holdings Limited.
In the Paramount Holdings Limited case, the suspects were answering three charges related to government procurement deals.
The accused persons, namely Prakash Virgi Ghedia, Arvindkumar Atit Patel, Suresh Khimji Jagatiya and Paramount Holdings Limited were charged with conspiracy to commit a felony which is contrary to Section 404 of the Penal Code, making a false document that is contrary to Section 353 of the Penal Code and uttering a false document that is contrary to Section 360 of the Penal Code.
The office of DPP has also freed some Cashgate suspects during the past two years after entering into plea-bargaining agreements with them to reimburse the stolen funds.
Further, the DPP also discharged Anderson Mwakiyeru, in a case where he, alongside others, was accused of four counts bordering on corruption and money laundering; also freed former DPP Steven Kayuni and senior State advocate Dziko Malunda in a case the duo was accused of abuse of office.
In an interview yesterday, Chamkakala said his office decided to discontinue the matter because the public funds alleged to have been abused were recovered
