By Clever Mwale:
Former secretary to the president and Cabinet Colleen Zamba was Friday granted bail by the Chief Resident Magistrate’s Court in Lilongwe, two days after her arrest at Kamuzu International Airport (KIA) on Wednesday morning while awaiting a flight to Switzerland.
Zamba was brought before the court to be informed of the reasons behind her arrest, with the State accusing her of abuse of office for allegedly recruiting 300 people into the public service between 2022 and 2023 without following procedures — conduct said to have prejudiced Malawi’s recruitment laws.
But the State, led by prosecutor Festus Sakanda, told the court it was not ready to proceed and needed 14 days to exchange documents with the defence before the charge could formally be taken, prompting the magistrate to withhold a plea entry.
During a heated bail hearing, Zamba’s lawyers, Slyvester Ayuba James and Khwima Mchizi, argued that their client had been in police custody beyond 48 hours, is a Malawian civil servant with a permanent residence, and, therefore, deserved bail.
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The State did not object to the principle of bail but opposed immediate release, insisting the offence was serious and warranted tough restrictions, including a demand that Zamba surrenders registered land property worth K50 million, submit close relatives as court witnesses, hand over travel documents, and report to Police Headquarters every Monday.
However, the defence pushed back, calling the conditions “punitive” for a misdemeanor charge and urging the court to instead impose “reasonable and proportionate” requirements, including bi-weekly — not weekly — police reporting. They also challenged the State’s push for property attachment, arguing that Zamba had already offered relatives for court bail surety.
Delivering his ruling, Chief Resident Magistrate Austin Banda sided with the defence on key points, stating that the offence, as framed, did not warrant excessive conditions. He ordered Zamba to submit her Area 43 house as bond security, report to Area 30 Police once every two weeks, surrender her passports, and only travel outside Malawi with joint approval from the court and the State.
The magistrate further directed the State to file all disclosures within 14 days, after which a fresh date for continuation of the case will be set.
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Moments after her release, a visibly emotional Zamba thanked people who flocked to court to offer moral support saying their prayers “had not been in vain” and adding that she believes “God kept her for a purpose.”
