Ex-minister, other convicted over theft

 The Lilongwe Chief Resident Magistrate’s Court has convicted former minister of Information Henry Mussa and former director of Information Gideon Munthali after finding them guilty of stealing 10 computers and a stand-by generator (genset) belonging to government.

High Court of Malawi Judge Patrick Chirwa, wearing the hat of his previous post as chief resident magistrate, delivered the rul ing on Tuesday and convicted the duo on both their individual counts and the joint charge of conspiracy to commit a felony.

Munthali was charged with theft by a person employed in the public service while Mussa was charged with receiving stolen property.

Smartly dressed in dark business suits, the two arrived at the court 40 minutes before the time set for the ruling. They were accompanied by their relatives.

When t h e c our t convened at 2pm, they looked composed until Chirwa started reading his judgement, first dwelling on a WhatsApp conversation between Mussa and Munthali in which they talked about having a parcel or gift to be delivered to Mussa.

He said although the duo denied having conspired to steal and that there was no direct evidence that they agreed, their conversation, tendered during trial as part of evidence, pointed to conspiracy to steal.

Chirwa found Mussa and Munthali guilty of conspiring to commit a felony. He also found Munthali guilty on the charge of theft by a person employed in the public service.

He said besides not surrendering the computers and the generator to the ministry, Munthali also did not produce a report to account for the items.

Chirwa wondered why Munthali delivered computers and one genset at Mussa’s residence when the items were meant for the Ministry of Information.

On Mussa, he said the former minister had sinister intentions as he kept the genset for 15 months until it was found by police.

The court proceeded to convict the two and adjourned the matter to a later date for sentencing.

Mussa and Munthali were arrested in September 2020 on allegations that they stole computers and a genset belonging to the Ministry of Information.

The equipment was donated by Malawi Communications Regulatory Authority. However, the two are suspected to have diverted the donation to their personal use. Police recovered some of the items from the suspects.