Attorney General (AG) Thabo Chakaka Nyirenda is battling a $6,942,359.49 (about K11.8 billion at current exchange rate) compound interest claim by businessman Shiraz Ferreira of SF International.
Ferreira is demanding the money for delayed payment in a deal where he reportedly supplied equipment to the Malawi Defence Force between 2012 and 2014.
He commenced the proceedings on November 4, 2021, but Chakaka Nyirenda is disputing the claim.
The businessman is also claiming legal collection cost and cost of the action. 208,270.78 (K350 million) in
The matter came before Justice Chifundo Kachale of the Commercial Division of the High Court in his chambers Monday where lawyers for Ferreira want the challenge by the AG dismissed for “not following the right procedure”.
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Among others, the State has raised six legal questions to Ferreira’s claim, including that the matter is statute barred.
‘Statute barred’ is a term used to describe a legal action that cannot be brought to court because too much time has passed.
Chakaka Nyirenda also argues that the contract was entered into in contravention of the then Public Procurement Act, now the Public Procurement and Disposal of Assets Act.
According to Nyirenda, the contract flouted procedures and there were issues of bid rigging.
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He further argues that the claim is arising from Cashgate contracts of between 2012 and 2014 and must, therefore, be dismissed.
Asked what transpired in court Monday, Chakaka Nyirenda said they did not go to substantive application because the claimant had an application to have the matter disposed of.
He told The Daily Times that the claimant made a preliminary application against proceeding with hearing of the application to dismiss the matter for being statute barred.
Kachale is scheduled to deliver a ruling on the preliminary application at 10 this morning.
Lawyer for Ferreira, Shabbir Khan, declined to talk to The Daily Times Monday, saying he had not been granted authority by his client to talk to the media.
Cashgate, from which the AG claims the demand is arising, was the plunder of public funds at Capital Hill involving businesspeople and public officers.
It is on record as Malawi’s biggest financial scandal, where billions of Kwacha were lost through collusions between the public officers and others in the private sector.
In most cases, payments were reportedly made for goods or services that were never rendered to government.
Scores of people were arrested in relation to the fraudulent acts.
