pre-empt things
By Cathy Maulidi:
High Court Judge Redson Kapindu has adjourned to September 1 2023 the corruption case involving Vice President Saulos Chilima.
According to a court document that has been sent to both the Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB) and the defence team, the court was supposed to hear the case today but pushed it to September 1.
“Take notice that the matter which was scheduled for hearing on 25th August 2023 has been adjourned to the 1st of September 2023 at 9 O’clock in the forenoon at the High Court in Lilongwe,” reads the letter, dated August 22 2023.
Asked why the case has been adjourned, defence lawyer Khumbo Soko said the parties in the case have not yet been informed about the reasons.
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“It is the court that has adjourned the proceedings. Maybe the Registrar [of the High Court and the Supreme Court] can shed more light [on that],” Soko said.
When contacted, Registrar of the High Court and Supreme Court Kondwani Banda said the case has been adjourned as the presiding judge is engaged.
“I don’t want to pre-empt [things]. I will revert on the court’s position,” he said.
ACB prosecutor Chrispin Khunga confirmed receiving the letter from the court and said the graft-busting body has not questioned the adjournment since it is coming from the court itself.
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“We have just received a letter from the court that the case is not proceeding today and that it has been adjourned to next week Friday, September 1. The notice has not stated the reasons [and], so, since it is the court’s sort of adjournment, we have just taken note of the notice,” Khunga said.
Chilima is yet to take plea in the case, which saw him being charged with three counts of corruption for allegedly receiving a $280,000 bribe from businessperson Zuneth Sattar to secure government contracts.
When adjourning the case on August 1 2023, the defence had objected to plea taking, arguing that the ACB had amended the charge sheet without following the law and procedures and that it was yet to respond to their application for more disclosures.
Defence lawyer Soko wondered why the bureau was proposing an amendment to the charge sheet nine months after effecting an arrest, stressing that “when one makes an arrest, they must be ready with charges”.
The lawyer further argued that they had demanded extra disclosures from the ACB and, therefore, preferred that plea be taken after the issues are addressed.
Kapindu asked the ACB to make a submission and serve the court and defence with relevant documents on their objection to make available certain documents, further ordering that such should be done within seven days.
