By Mercy Matonga & Feston Malekezo:
The State has, following a High Court order, confiscated a house belonging to former national budget director and Cashgate suspect Paul Mphwiyo, who is feared to have escaped the country while on trial for corruption charges.
Cashgate refers to the plunder of public resources at Capital Hill, the seat of the government.
The order, issued on March 28 2024 by Judge Ruth Chinangwa, follows an application by the State after Mphwiyo, who was granted bail on October 24 2014 while answering Cashgate charges related to theft of K2.4 billion from the government, jumped bail.
Mphwiyo’s family members reported the issue of his disappearance to police in June last year.
His whereabouts remain unknown.
His bail conditions were that he would be appearing before the Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB) every fortnight and pay a bond of K8,000,000.00 cash and his residential house in Area 43.
“Under Section 12(2) of the Criminal Procedures and Evidence Code, this court is satisfied that the respondent has absconded and cannot be traced and hereby orders [that] the house in Area 43 [which serves] as bond be forfeited to the Malawi Government,” Chinangwa ruled in a ruling seen by The Daily Times.
Chinangwa said the ruling considered whether the house could be fortified to the Malawi Government without affecting a third party, which is Mphwiyo’s family.
“This court is informed by the State that the residential home on an official search is solely registered in the name of the respondent. Being a residential family home, this court thought it wise a submission be made to confirm ownership so that the forfeiture would not affect the rights of the spouse.
“Section 24(A) of the Registered Land Act states that the registration of a person as the proprietor of private land shall confer on that person the rights of owner of that land as private land. This not being a matrimonial cause of distribution of property, the court, following the official search of the registered owner, finds that the house in area 43 belongs to the respondent and is amenable to be forfeited— the same having been bonded on the respondents,” Chinangwa further ruled.
At the time of his disappearance, Mphwiyo and 17 others accused of defrauding the Malawi Government of K2.4 billion in the infamous 2013 Cashgate case had all been found with a case to answer and the High Court was due to rule on whether the accused were guilty or not on the charges.
An application by the accused persons to the Supreme Court to stop the High Court from delivering the judgement failed.
In the application for the forfeiture of the house, the State said records at the ACB showed that Mphwiyo last appeared for bail on June 19 2023, with efforts by the State to trace the former budget director through his sureties proving futile.
According to the documents, the State further attempted to serve summons for the proceedings on Mphwiyo at his house through his wife, to no avail.
This led to a hearing on October 20 2023 in which the State made the application without Mphwiyo’s defence.
The court previously revoked bail and ordered the arrest of Mphwiyo, who rose to prominence when he was shot in the face in 2013 and was initially hailed as a hero fighting corruption in government— only for him to be arrested later for alleged participation in Cashgate.
Former Justice minister Ralph Kasambara, associate Pika Manondo and ex-soldier Macdonald Kumwembe were convicted for the shooting.
