Immigration ordered to release documents
The Blantyre Magistrate’s Court has ordered the Department of Immigration and Citizenship Services and Ministry of Homeland Security to provide prosecution with documents on the alleged irregular recruitment of 127 immigration assistants.
The order follows the request by the Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB) on Monday seeking the court’s intervention after struggling to access the documents since the start of the case against former minister of Homeland Security Cecilia Chazama and five others.
Delivering the ruling yesterday, chief resident magistrate (South) Chisomo Msokera ordered Immigration director general and the Ministry of Homeland Security Principal Secretary (PS) to release all the minutes and memorandum pertaining to the recruitment immigration assistants in 2017.
He said: “By 7th May [2024], Immigration should make available to this court through the Anti-Corruption Bureau all the minutes pertaining to the recruitment process. The PS should also disclose to this court all the letters through the ACB on the same date.
“Failure to do so, office bearers shall be required to swear an affidavit, why they failed to provide the said documents.”
Msokera further observed that the minutes and a memo purportedly issued by then Immigration director general Masauko Medi, addressing Ministry of Homeland Security PS on the alleged irregular recruitment of 127 immigration assistants, are vital in the case at hand.
Msokera has since directed ACB to serve the defence with the disclosures by May 14 2024 and that the defence responds by May 20 before court reconvenes on May 20 and 21 2024.
ACB legal and prosecutions officer Michael Kalonga on Monday told the court that since the start of the case, the bureau has struggled to access some documents from Immigration to help consolidate its evidence.
The accused persons were arrested in May 2022 and all pleaded not guilty to the charge of abuse of office.
