The Blantyre Chief Resident Magistrate’s Court yesterday granted bail to private practice lawyer Bob Chimkango after his earlier arrest by the Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB) for allegedly receiving about K7 million in allowances not related to his work.
In an interview last evening, the lawyer confirmed that he was out on court bail.
Said Chimkango: “I was taken to the Blantyre Chief Resident Magistrate’s Court where I was granted bail.”
Earlier yesterday, ACB principal public relations officer Egrita Ndala said the bureau’s investigations established that Chimkango, while working as Malawi Housing Corporation (MHC) director of administration and corporate affairs, in 2019 obtained K7 430 820 in fuel and subsistence allowances from the parastatal to attend proceedings in the 2019 presidential elections case where he was a witness.
She said the court case in question was not related to MHC’s interests.
Reads the statement: “He will be taken to court where he will be charged with abuse of public office contrary to Section 25B (1) as read with Section 34 of the Corrupt Practices Act.”
The High Court of Malawi sitting as a Constitutional Case heard the case in Lilongwe where Chimkango was paraded as a witness for former president Peter Mutharika who was the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) presidential candidate in the nullified elections.
In the elections case, the first petitioner Saulos Chilima of UTM Party and second petitioner Lazarus Chakwera of Malawi Congress Party were challenging the 2019 presidential election results in which Mutharika was declared winner by the Malawi Electoral Commission.
