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Lawyer Kamkwasi spits fire at ACB

Blantyre-based private practice lawyer Joseph Kamkwasi has accused the Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB) of arresting and charging him without hearing his side of the story.

In an interview on Monday, Kamkwasi claimed the ACB acted in bad faith.

He said that he doubts if the ACB would successfully prosecute him without hearing him. Kamkwasi said it was a surprise that after the arrest, the ACB lawyer asked for a date of court hearing before getting his side.

ACB arrested Kamkwasi last week on allegations that he defrauded a client of compensation money in circumstances where corruption was suspected.

But ACB director Alex Nampota on Tuesday said Kamkwasi’s arrest was in conformity with the law.

Said Nampota: “The arrest of Mr. Kamkwasi was in accordance with Section 15 of the Corrupt Practices Act (CPA). The section empowers us [ACB] to arrest any person in respect of whom we reasonably suspect an offence under the CPA or any written law has been committed.

“We are not always duty-bound to hear the other side of the story before the arrest. However, having arrested,  we do accord a right of audience under a warn and caution as is required by the Malawi Constitution.”

But Kamkwasi described as “primitive”, the law that mandates ACB to arrest and charge a person without hearing their side. The lawyer said he would challenge the legality of his arrest by the ACB.

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