Uladi Mussa enters defence in passport scam case

Former Home Affairs and Internal Security minister, Uladi Mussa, has started answering charges for allegedly granting Malawian citizenship dubiously to ineligible Rwandans.

Recently, the court found Mussa and former chief citizenship officer David Kwanjana and two others with cases to answer on the charges.

Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB) arrested Mussa and others on allegations that they fraudulently issued the citizenships and passports to foreigners.

Mussa entered defence Monday with lead prosecutor representing ACB, Kamudoni Nyasulu, cross-examining him.

Nyasulu has said he will continue cross-examining Mussa today.

“Today, we started with the defence because on October 2, the court found that all the accused had a case to answer so they have started giving their evidence in their defence but for the first accused, he gave his statement in writing. I was cross – examining him on what made him decide to issue citizenship to the applicants.

“He had argued that he issued the citizenships because Principal Secretaries [PSs]had given him a memo, so now, we are looking at those memos to look at the recommendations of the PS and the decision that he made and asking him why he made those decisions,” he said.

It is alleged that Mussa fraudulently granted citizenship documents to more than 50 foreigners in 2013 when he was Home Affairs minister.

Mussa and Kwanjana were charged with neglect of official duty contrary to Section 121 of the Penal Code and abuse of public office contrary to section 25B(1) of the Corrupt Practices Act.

Mussa denied the charges, describing them as a political tool to silence him.