State moves to discontinue Chilima corruption case

The State is expected to discontinue a corruption case against Vice-President Saulos Chilima, according to sources familiar with the matter.

While both Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) Masautso Chamkakala and Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB) director general Martha Chizuma refused to comment yesterday, our sources said the DPP was scheduled to submit a certificate of discontinuance to the High Court Financial Crimes division last Friday.

“This was filed last Friday in the evening. I guess even the Judge (Redson Kapindu) is yet to see it. But what is important to note is that the case has been discontinued,” said a highly-placed source who is part of the prosecution team.

The source added: “The Legal Affairs Committee of Parliament within the course of the week will also be informed of this decision.”.

Confirmed information from other sources, including one lawyer at ACB, show that the move to drop the charges is partly based on “admissibility of some evidence” and fear of compromising national security.

Our sources could not divulge further specifics on the issue.

ACB spokesperson Egrita Ndala said the bureau has not been served with the certificate of discontinuance. “Accordingly, we have no comment,” she said.

Under Malawi laws, the DPP has powers to discontinue a case.

Section 99 (3) of the Republican Constitution requires the DPP to explain reasons for discontinuance to the Legal Affairs Committee within 10 days after the order.

In a written response yesterday, the committee chairperson Peter Dimba said he was not aware of this development.

According to Dimba, the committee is expected to meet the DPP on May 20 where the top prosecutor is also expected to account for certain decisions, including discontinuance of some cases in courts.

In an interview yesterday, Centre for Social Accountability and Transparency executive director Willy Kambwandira said if true, the decision would be “disturbing”.

Kambwandira said: “Malawians are let down, and it should be now up to the citizens to stand up and demand transparency and accountability from some of these law enforcement officers.”

The moves to discontinue the case comes barely a week before Chilima is expected to take plea.

Justice Redson Kapindu set Friday next week for plea taking, almost one year and a half since Chilima was arrested.

During the hearing, there was heated argument over the defence’s demand for more disclosures from the State.

The defence legal team sought disclosures on minutes of the Defence Council meeting held on October 16 2020 authorising the procurement of armoured personnel carriers (APCs) and a memorandum of March 2021 from the MDF to President Lazarus Chakwera seeking authorisation to buy APCs from Malachite FZE, a company linked to United Kingdom-based Malawian businessperson Zuneth Sattar, using single sourcing.

The ACB had told the court that it had problems getting these documents from MDF.

Kapindu had to order MDF to share these documents with the court to evaluate whether there was a threat to national security and if they were relevant to the case.

In his ruling last month, Kapindu dismissed as premature the defence’s application for the disclosures.

He, therefore, agreed with the MDF that some of the documents are indeed highly sensitive in nature to be made public.

Said the judge: “After looking at the minutes of the Defence Council, outrightly, the court wishes to mention that it formed a clear view that the same were not of such a nature to be used in court proceedings as evidence…

“But if the court will form a view that the information sought is relevant for the defence in light of proof of certain trial facts during the course of the trial, and that a fair trial for the defendant will not be possible in the absence of access to such information, then the decision will ultimately fall on the State on whether to proceed and disclose such information, notwithstanding the court’s finding that it is of a highly sensitive security nature as to enjoy public interest immunity or to terminate the proceedings in the interest of national security.”

Chilima was arrested in November 2022 after being named among 84 individuals suspected to have received bribes from Sattar, according to a report the ACB submitted to President Chakwera in 2022.