By Brenda Kayo:
The Lilongwe Chief Resident Magistrate Court Wednesday adjourned to today its ruling on whether Central Region vice president for the Democratic Progressive Party Alfred Gangata should be granted bail.
Lilongwe Chief Resident Magistrate Austin Banda said he needed time to examine submissions made by both defense and State lawyers.
Banda also directed that Gangata should be examined by doctors following an application by his lawyer, Zwelithini Chipembere, who indicated that he was reportedly unwell.
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During court proceedings Wednesday, another defense lawyer Gilbert Khonyongwa asked the court to grant Gangata bail by claiming that the State had concluded its investigations and that the accused could not tamper with investigations.
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Khonyongwa also said the accused was a person who was likely to attend court hearings as he is already on bail in another criminal case, in which he has observed all the bail conditions.
However, an investigator from the Criminal Investigations Department at Police Headquarters, Maclucky Kamphandira, said the suspect should not be granted bail considering the safety of State witnesses.
“Our intelligence team has notified us that the accused has deployed agents to track and tamper with our witnesses; for that we object to the granting [of bail application],” Kamphandira said.
Speaking to the press, Chipembere said the State had not brought evidence before the court to clear their claim that the accused would tamper with their witnesses.
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“No evidence was brought before the court to substantiate their denial of their opposition to the application for bail,” Chipembere said.
Gangata has spent a third night in custody.
Gangata was arrested on Monday for allegedly possessing a Malawi School Certificate of Education certificate which the State alleged was obtained illegally.
Malawi Police Service spokesperson Peter Kalaya alleged in The Daily Times on Monday that Gangata claims that he obtained it from Chitowo Day Secondary School in 2018.
