By Mercy Matonga
The Supreme Court of Appeal will still deliver a judgement in the Paul Mphwiyo shooting case despite the death of former Attorney General Ralph Kasambara who was among the accused persons.
Kasambara was convicted alongside Macdonald Kumwembe and Pika Manondo of conspiracy to murder Mphwiyo, who was budget director, in 2013.
He was granted bail on March 14, 2018, by Supreme Court of Appeal judge Dunstain Mwaungulu after spending a year and seven months in prison following his 13- year sentence.
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His co-convicts Manondo and Kumwembe remain in jail while the court was hearing an appeal on the conviction.
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But Registrar of the Supreme Court of Appeal and the High Court Kondwani Banda confirmed in an interview with The Daily Times that the court is still going to deliver a verdict on the matter.
Banda could, however, not state when the judgement will be delivered.
“The appeal case will continue as Mr Kasambara was not the only appellant in the matter, and as such, the others remaining are entitled to know the decision regarding their application. The ruling will be made as soon as the Supreme Court is done with it,” Banda said.
In a separate interview, Director of Public Prosecutions Masauko Chamkakala told The Daily Times that his office has done its part and that what remains is for the court to make its judgement.
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“As indicated, the hearing was concluded, and what remains is a ruling by the court. From our end, we concluded the case,” Chamkakala said.
Kasambara, alongside Kumwembe and Manondo, were found guilty and convicted of conspiring to murder and attempting to murder Mphwiyo in relation to Cashgate.
The financial scandal involved looting, theft and corruption that happened at Capital Hill, the seat of the Government of Malawi.
It was uncovered during the administration of Joyce Banda, though it is believed to have begun prior to her taking office.
The scandal first came to light in September 2013, when an accounts assistant in the Ministry of Environment was found with several thousand dollars in his car.
A week later, Mphwiyo was shot outside his home in Lilongwe. Kasambara, Kumwembe and Manondo were arrested in relation to the incident.
