The Commercial Division of the High Court Tuesday rejected an application by lawyer representing businessman Shiraz Ferreira of SF International to dismiss a challenge by Attorney General (AG) Thabo Chakaka Nyirenda who is disputing a $6,942,359.49 (about K11.8 billion) compound interest claim by the mogul.
Ferreira is seeking the money being delayed payment interest for equipment he supplied to the Malawi Defence Force between 2012 and 2014.
Following the rejection of the application by Justice Chifundo Kachale, the court was supposed to hear the six legal questions by Chakaka Nyirenda to dismiss the claim.
The AG told The Daily Times outside the court that on Monday the State served Ferreira’s lawyer with a “voluminous” sworn statement from the Anti-Corruption Bureau and that the lawyer had asked the court to give them 14 days to go through the statement with his client.
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The court has since given Ferreira’s lawyer 14 days to respond to the sworn statement by the ACB.
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Hearing will continue on March 29, 2024 when Chakaka Nyirenda will present his arguments for why the claim should be dismissed.
Among others, the State argues that the matter is statute barred, 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 Public Procurement and Disposal of Assets Act.
According to the AG, 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.
Lawyer for Ferreira, Shabbir Khan, refused to comment on Tuesday’s proceedings.
But according to court documents we have seen, in a letter dated April 28, 2014, to FDH Bank Managing Director, the then Secretary to Treasury Newby Kumwembe admitted that government owed the businessman K2.1 billion as of April 1, 2014.
On February 3, 2020 Ferreira’s former lawyer wrote the AG claiming $10,938,772.24 in interest loses.
This was followed by another letter dated March 20, 2020, where the interest loss was recalculated to $6,947,359.49.
However, on August 20, 2020 the then AG Chikosa Silungwe wrote the Secretary to Treasury stopping the payment.
Silungwe said any litigation to claim the said amount would be defended.
