Malawi VP Kachale denies link to Cash-gate: Tells Parliament he is suing Galaxy radio
Malawi’s Vice President Khumbo Kachale has distanced himself from allegations of his links into the plunder of public funds in which K20 billion is reportedly is reported to have been looted from government coffers since 2005.
Recent reports have indicated that Kachale is linked to the Crossmarketing company which has been listed as one of the companies which was paid without providing any services to government.
The allegation was repeated Tuesday by leader of the Opposition Democratic Progress Party (DPP) in parliament Dr George Chaponda who said has evidence the company is linked to the vice president.
In his response Kachale said he doesn’t know the company.
“But my legal experts, whom I am asked to do the needful, are informing me that the directors of Crossmarketing company, for the benefit of this house, are Lekani Loga, Luka Kasamba, Billiat Loga, Khumbo Nyirenda and Charles Kapapa,” he said.
Kachale finalised his defense by telling the house that “we will meet where we are supposed to meet to clarify this in our court so that the law takes its course.”
The Vice President has since hired two legal firms, G.Nankhuni and Partners and Lexon and Lords to claim K1 billion from Galaxy radio owned by late president Bingu wa Mutharika’s family in what could be the highest defamatory claim in Malawi media history.
Reports indicate that Galaxy Management has distanced itself from a two hour broadcast report on Sunday which announcers Gerald Viola and Slyvester Namiwa expressly linked the Vice President to a company called Crossmarketing.
Owners of Crossmarketing led by Luka Kasamba are also suing the radio station alongside over 22 companies that were mentioned in a bogus documents that Galaxy relied without investigating its authenticity.
“Om behalf of our client, the Right Honourable Khumbo Kachali, vice president of the Republic of Malawi, we hereby demand the sum of one billion Kwacha as damages for defamation for the programme which was aired on the 20th October 2013,” reads the letter which was delivered at Galaxy Radio studios in Area 3 at 9.40am on Tuesday.
The lawyers charge that the radio claimed the Vice President was connected to the deleting of the data from Ifimis and that he recieved payments through a company known as Crossmarketing.
“Further your said programme insinuated that our client was somehow behind the shooting of the then budget director Paul Mphwiyo which is also a total lie,” charges the lawyers.
“Unless therefore the said sum of K1 billion is paid to our client immediately upon receipt of this letter our strict instructions are to institute a legal claim for defamation against yourselves without further reference to you whatsoever,” writes the lawyers.
They add, “by copy therefore announcers of the said programme Slyvetser Namiwa and Gerlad Viola are also informed of is impending suit against them if the claimed sum is not paid upon their receipt of this letter.”
Galaxy Management are said to be seeking an audience with the Vice President to apologize over remarks made by the two announcers who charged Kachali as being a thief, part of the looting which has been siezed by the DPP in Parliament interestingly whose president Peter Muthatika owns the station by family.
A media expert said the documents which circulated in different media houses is proving to be a bogus as the alleged delete expert George Sinoya from the Accountant Generals office is said to have no access to the IFIMS.
“Someone created that document and those in the media who were stupid believed it. Sinoya, according to the Accountant General has no access to IFIMS therefore it is impossible for him to access let alone delete anything. This one was a bogus and someone will pay dearly,” said an officer in the office who said Sinoya is computer illiterate.
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