Kabambe, Mathanga cleared on one count
The High Court of Malawi in Lilongwe has let off the hook former Reserve Bank of Malawi (RBM) governor Dalitso Kabambe and his former deputy Henry Mathanga on the count of abuse of office.
The count was one of the two charges the two faced in a case they are accused of masterminding RBM’s alleged misreporting of the country’s Net International Reserves and Gross Reserve Liabilities to the International Monetary Fund (IMF) between 2018 and 2019.
In a ruling delivered on Friday, High Court of Malawi Financial Crimes Division Judge Redson Kapindu also sided with the accused in an application seeking a declaration that State prosecutor Kamudoni Nyasulu is not eligible to prosecute the case “given that he did not have a valid licence to practice”.
But the judge dismissed the other challenge to discharge the second count of fraud other than false pretences.
The count discharge, according to the judge, was a result of the State’s failure to commence trial within 12 months as stipulated in Section 302A (4) of the Criminal Procedure and Evidence Code.
In their bid asking the court to dismiss the second count, defence lawyers Powell Nkhutabasa and Fostino Maele questioned the State’s argument that the misreporting resulted in cancellation of the Extended Credit Facility.
However, Kapindu ruled that it was premature for the defence to raise the arguments.
Director of Public Prosecutions Masauko Chamkakala said the State was studying the judgement.
Kabambe and Mathanga were appointed during the Democratic Progressive Party administration which lost the 2020 court-sanctioned fresh presidential elections. They were arrested in 2021 and were later granted bail.
