By Mercy Matonga:
The Mkukula Magistrate Court Friday ruled that the warrant of arrest for former Chief Secretary to the President, Colleen Zamba, should be suspended.
In his ruling, presiding magistrate Kondani Chinangwa said that if the State wants to question Zamba, it must use a summons rather than a warrant of arrest, as she is already on bail and there is no evidence or reports of absconding.
He also said that the warrants of arrest, which the State argued the defence did not present in court, were available at the Mkukula Magistrate Court and were accessible, as court documents are public records.
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“Both case files, numbers 266 and 286 of 2026, were obtained here by a law enforcement agency at the Mkukula Court, and court documents are public documents which can be accessed,” Chinangwa said.
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Zamba’s lawyer, George Kadzipatike who was at the court while his client is said to be unwell in South Africa said he was satisfied, as the court essentially agreed with his arguments.
“The warrants of arrest were unnecessary in this case, where the accused person is already honouring bail conditions in two separate cases. Once my client returns to Malawi, the case will commence by way of summons and she will submit to the jurisdiction of the court,” Kadzipatike said.
In his sworn statement, Kadzipatike, argued that Zamba, who is already on bail in other matters, is available for investigations and should be summoned instead of being arrested, describing the warrants as pre-trial victimisation.
“What I know is that the warrants were issued by this court and when I came here to photocopy them, the court clerk informed me that the police officer who had obtained the warrants deliberately collected all copies for fear of leakage before execution,” reads the statement.
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However, State lawyer in the case, Prescott Mwayiulipo, said the respondent did not present the warrants in question or identify the law enforcement body involved, which the defence failed to provide.
“The State objects to the application on the grounds that the warrant does not exist. The defence has not exhibited any warrant in their application, and the court cannot set aside a warrant which does not exist. Secondly, the defence has not specified which law enforcement agency obtained the warrants in question— whether it is the Malawi Police Service or the ACB,” reads the statement.
Zamba was arrested on allegations of money laundering and abuse of office linked to the controversial sale of Amaryllis Hotel.
Earlier, she was picked up on December 3, 2025, at Kamuzu International Airport in Lilongwe over claims that she recruited about 300 people into the public service without following laid-down procedures.
In February 2026, Zamba was arrested again alongside former Minister of Agriculture Sam Kawale and former Minister of Finance and Economic Affairs Sosten Gwengwe. The three were charged with conspiracy to commit a crime and abuse of office.
Prosecutors say the three conspired to defraud the government by corruptly awarding a contract to East Bridge Estate SRL to supply 600,000 metric tonnes of fertiliser, allegedly in exchange for agricultural produce.
Zamba has missed several scheduled appearances before parliamentary committees, most notably the Public Accounts Committee (PAC) and the Public Appointments Committee, across various investigations
