Treason case against Mutharika, others discontinued

The Director of Public Prosecution has discontinued the treason case against President Peter Mutharika and other Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) officials because Mutharika as president is immune to prosecution according to Section 91 (2) of the Constitution.

The DPP heavyweights charged alongside Mutharika include Jean Kalirani, Kondwani Nankhumwa, Patricia Kaliati who have since been re-elected, Goodall Gondwe who is now Minister of Finance, Nicholas Dausi who has been appointed director of the national intelligence agency, Simon Vuwa Kaunda and former chief secretary to the cabinet Bright Msaka.

Director of Public Prosecutions Bruno Kalemba confirmed in an interview yesterday that he filed a notice of discontinuance with the High Court on Friday and on the lawyers of the accused persons.

“On Monday I also wrote the Legal Affairs Committee of Parliament informing them of the decision to discontinue the case. But I cannot divulge the reasons for discontinuance of the case to the public, the committee will do that,” Kalemba said.

But it was earlier implied that since treason centred on conspiracy, all the accused persons had to be charged together for the State to have a strong case.

Section 91(2) of the Constitution states that ‘no person holding the office of President shall be charged with any criminal offence in any court during his term of office and a law commentator Justin Dzonzi noted that the Constitution lacked clarification as it assumed that the person would already be holding office but it excluded the possibility that a new president already facing criminal charges would assume office.

Two of the accused persons, Vuwa Kaunda and Mussa confirmed that they were informed of the discontinuance of the case and asked to pick up their travel documents from the Police, confiscated as part of bail conditions.

But Mussa said he was consulting his lawyer, Kalekeni Kaphale because he expected an acquittal not discontinuance of the treason case.

“This means the government has failed to prove its case. So I expect a full acquittal and I am consulting my lawyers on this,” he said.

Reacting to the development, Vuwa Kaunda said: “I now have my freedom back. You know each time we had to move, locally and internationally we had to seek permission from the court but we are now free.”

Mutharika and the DPP officials were arrested in March last year after revelations in the commission of inquiry into late president Bingu wa Mutharika’s death found that they took part in concealing his death from Malawians in an attempt to prevent the vice president from assuming power.