By Isaac Salima:
The Supreme Court of Appeal sitting in Blantyre Tuesday failed to start hearing business mogul Thom Mpinganjira’s appeal case as justices could not make a quorum to handle the matter.
The minimum number of justices is seven and Tuesday’s members were only six.
Mpinganjira, who was handed nine years custodial sentence in 2021 after being convicted of attempting to bribe judges, was later released on bail in 2022 pending his appeal at the Supreme Court of Appeal.
But the court failed to commence proceedings as the quorum for Supreme Court of Appeal justices was inadequate to hear the matter.
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Chief Justice Rizine Mzikamanda said hearing would commence when additional Supreme Court of Appeal justices are appointed to make the quorum.
Lawyer for Mpinganjira Wapona Kita said that they were told that there were some justices who could not hear the case as they were involved in the same case in the subordinate court.
“We were told that those judges could not make it to the quorum and, according to the Constitution, they are allowed to appoint acting justices. So, that is the process that they are going to undertake and, in the next sitting, they will have those plus other members to make the quorum,” Kita said.
Anti-Corruption Bureau Director of Legal and Prosecutions Victor Chiwala said they would wait for the court to appoint acting justices.
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Mpinganjira was freed on court bail when he was convicted of attempting to bribe five judges who were handling elections case.
He stayed in prison from October 2021 to February 2022, when he was released.
