Ex-minister Kasambara granted bail by Malawi Supreme Court: Pending appeal on conviction

March 14, 2018 Green Muheya -Nyasa Times 52 Comments

Malawi Supreme Court of Appeal has granted bail to former justice minister Ralph Kasambara who has been given serving  a 13-year jail term for conspiracy to murder a civil servant, in a crime believed to be linked to a multi-million dollar corruption ring, as he is pending appeal on his conviction.

Kasambara at court today

Kasambara was sentenced for his role in the attempted murder of ex-National Budget Director Paul Mphwiyo. He was convicted  alongside MacDonald Kumwembe and Pika Manondo and they were all seeking bail.

But Malawi Supreme Court of Appeal Judge Dunstan Mwaungulu, sitting as a single Supreme Court Judge, only released on Wednesday when he delivered his ruling.

Mwaungulu heard submissions from Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) Mary Kachale and lawyers for the trio, namely Modecai Msisha, Senior Counsel (SC), Michael Goba Chipeta and Lusungu Gondwe.

In his determination. Mwaungulu noted that in convicting Kasambara the High Court judge Micheal Mtambo  has evidently relied on call logs which did not place Kasambara anywhere near the scene of the crime.

The day Mphwiyo was shot outside the gate of his Area 43 residence in Lilongwe, Kasambara was meeting former South African president Thabo Mbeki.

The trio, who have spent 20 months at Zomba Central Prison, have since filed an appeal against their conviction.

In the appeal, the trio, among others, argues that High Court judge Dr Michael Mtambo erred in sentencing them based on phone call logs and that based on the pending appeal, they want the court to release them on bail.

In August 2016, Mtambo sentenced Kasambara to 13 years imprisonment for conspiring to murder Mphwiyo outside the gate of his house in Lilongwe’s Area 43 residential estate on September 13 2013.

Manondo and Kumwembe were given 15 years prison terms for attempting to murder Mphwiyo.

Mphwiyo survived the bullets fired by assassins that lurked in the dark at the gate of his house. He was rushed to the Masm Clinic few blocks away from his house before being taken to Kamuzu Central Hospital. Days later, he was airlifted to South Africa.

However, Mphwiyo’s initial reputation as an anti-corruption crusader was dented by his own arrest on Cashgate-related charges which he is currently answering in court.

Legal commentary from barrister Allan Ntata

In their case, Mphwiyo was about to expose Kasambara’s role in the cashgate scandal and that was the motive behind the attempt on his life. But if this was the motive and the prosecution truly believe that this was the reason for Kasambara conspiring to murder Mphwiyo, why is the same prosecutor also accusing Mphwiyo of Cashgate related offences in a separate case also currently in the courts?

Are we to believe that Mphwiyo, the victim of a murder conspiracy and an attempt on his life for fighting Cashgate, is also its mastermind and instigator? It is a sad contradiction for the future as it may discourage other whistle-blowers.

A future potential whistle-blower may decide to keep their mouth shut for fear of being considered criminal masterminds!

If in our governance system, we allow for this kind of contradictory thinking to continue, it will be very difficult for the country to move forward, especially in matters of corruption and government malfeasance.

Those that are given the responsibility of safeguarding the country’s criminal justice system need to be more competent and more consistent in their thinking.

The Kasambara trial may have scored points for the government, but for me, it leaves a rather conspicuous governance sour taste in the mouth.

 

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52 replies on “Ex-minister Kasambara granted bail by Malawi Supreme Court: Pending appeal on conviction”

  1. They want to silence guys who r brave.the only person we have n malawi who can fight these killaz dpp is ralph.everybody is scared.njauju tyle.make it look like accident.musiyeni ralph.anthu oyipa muli inu.anyani inu

  2. how else did you expect Mwaungulu to rule. obviously he does not get surprised why Kasambara was making frequent calls at odd hours to the other accused. was it mere coincidence. one can conspire by mere communicating through a telephone call. if the law would allow, it was important to have the voices played and see what Kasambara and the other accused were discussing at odd hours. though he might have been meeting Thambo Mbeki but that would not stop him to call the other accused.

  3. Komanso ku Malawi sitidzatheka. Supreme court case being determined by a single judge? Ayayaya

  4. Misjudge Mtumbo must be an embarrassment to the institution that conferred him his degree. Persecutor Kachale a total disgrace.

    How can the two of them let their personal vendetta control their emotions and influence a court case.

    In civilised societies this conduct is more than enough to warrant a resignation. In conformity with modernity, I call upon these two to resign from sitting as a high Court judge and public prosecutor respectively with immediately effect. Let them serve in private practice not in a tax payer funded office.

    Times have changed. This time we must demand accountability on each and every public office bearer and not just politicians.

  5. To be honest from the bottom of my heart, I’m happy for Kasambara. I think that there is something which judge Mtambo is not telling us. Kasambara palibe mulandu apa.

  8. Koma mwati Ntatayi ndi loya di?chitsilu chamunthu chenicheni.iwe ndithu ukuyikila kumbuyo mphwiyo mbava yachabe chabe ngati imeneyo.is because anakulemba nchito ngati advisor wake?
    Galu

  9. Tawonga ada Kasambala kuti mwatuwa. Ifwe tatonga tanyinu kosi ko tili tewalikondwa. Imwe mwakukamba mulamu mu chalu chidu cha Malawi, sambirani umampha kuzenga mulandu. Lekani kumanga wanthu ambula kunanga. Ntchinthu chamampha kufufuza dankha mwanadi mwengandatole munthu kumphala yamulandu. Nyengu sonu zikusintha, ankhungu ato galimoto la munthu ndikwachibiya. Phone nambala zawanthu watope kuchibiya panyaki kuchitiya zauchigewenga. Tiyeni tisaniyi nthowa zakukole wakubuda, nthowa yo mukwendapo ndinthowa yakali ukongwa. Musiyeni da Kasambala. Lekani kutole mwawi chifukwa mutinkha ifwe Tatonga.

    1. Awa mwakamba vikulu ukongwa ada Chibeti. Isi taba tonga takondwa limu ndikutuwa kwinu ada a Kasambala. Soni zibako bena kodi kodi aba

  12. I thank God for his bail. I am not a fan of Ralph but the ruling was based on fraud and corruption embarrassing Malawi. I wonder what the World think about the Lawyers Educated in Malawi.

    I have been praying for This Man not because I feel he is innocent but because the judges lost the plot. May God vindicate Mr Kasambara.

    May God show His Grace and Mercy in this case for our Lawyers in Malawi to know that God is full of mercy.

    For Mtambo and Kachale all you need is to repent if you have not to.

    I can see things turning round. This case is going to bite many. Not because Mr Kasambara isinnicent or not but because of the judgement was based on anger jelousy resentment which are are the fruits of sin.

    May God bless Malawi.

    To Mr Kasambara the best thing you can do is to forgive. Let surrender to God. You ‘ve been inside and seen how people suffer in jail. Do not forget them. May God use you for them.

    Humble yourself and God will lift you up. God will restore a what you ‘ve lost. Enjoy your family and be at peace for God is in control.

  13. Amisema milandu nonse pamodzi ndi your Unjustness Michael Mtumbo mukumva bwanji kumeneko.

    That unfair judge must be relieved of his duties before he sends more innocent people to jail. He is a danger to society, not compatible with modernity and a complete waste of space.

    1. Our justice system is rotten.This thing called Kasambara
      should rot in jail.If anything he should just die.He is a danger to our democracy

  15. Atumbuka okhaokha kuthana kuthana. I’m happy Kassmbara is out, the guy is a genius. It’s a waste of human resource to have him behind bars for something he did not do. Bravo Justice Dunstan Mwaungulu!

    1. Adzadzanako ku judiciary – from judges, prosecutors to lawyers. For years, they are the ones who have dominated the study of law at chancellor college. That’s why we need quota system.

    2. Ralph is not a Tumbuka please. Such ignorance is shown in public because of tribalism and regionalism in Malawi by idiots who influence everyone into thinking that all people from the north are Tumbukas.

  16. We knew Kasambala will be out going through all his determinations. You don’t a person on hurt rage no. Mtambo is abad judge ever Malawi had. Dustin Mwaungulu is one of the super judges Malawi has and he is aspiring Chief Justice soon. I love his character, he one of the judges of the likes of Justice Twea. We are proud of you Dustin Mwaungulu God bless you for being fair in passing judgement.

  17. call logs cant be evidence to arrest somebody unless the airtel comes out with the convensation those guys were discussing during those call logs which they will demand airtel to release the actual convensation and they should pray that the convensation will be related to the attempt murder of mphwiyo otherwise it will be another Billion compasation to those guys.And if call logs will be the system of putting somebody to jail then more people will end up to jail.

  18. Ntata, your argument is completely silly. There is no contradiction at all. Corruption in Malawi involves many people in a mafia-like web. Kasambara and Mphwiyo are both corrupt. What happened is they were stealing together (one getting more than the other) but they bitterly disagreed and Mphwiyo who was the facilitator decided to reveal what was happening. Kasambara chose to eliminate him, unsuccessfully though. So, Kasambara committed several offences – corruption, abuse of office and attempted murder. Mphwiyo is also corrupt, facilitated corruption and therefore abused his office as a civil servant. In America, they deal with such cases in a rather phony and unjust way – Mphwiyo would have got freedom from conviction by trading his misdeeds to prosecutors i.e. being a whistle-blower and giving information for the conviction of Kasambara et al.

  20. Kasambara is childish and some of us wonder why he associated with thugs like Pika Manondo who doesnot even have a family unlike Kasambara. He put his family under undue stress. I would not imagine a genius like him in jail. He is a fool. He is not wise. Intelligence and wisdom are two different things. This we see in many who are ruling including the president and goodall gondwe who stole K4 billion through MPs. They were caught red handed.

  21. Congratulations ada bwana. Scotland wishes you well. Chiuta ngwanthazi abwana kuti mwaweku ndi moyo.

  23. Malawi sazatheka!!!! tiyeni tizingobani basi!! akatigwira tizikaseva ti miyezi tochepa kenaka belo!! kkkkkkk

  24. Mwaungulu pako. Mzako anaombeledwa koma mwa chisomo cha Mulungu anapulumuka. Iweyo ukuti mfutiyo inachokera ku mwamba? ukufuna umboni wotani kuposa womwe unaperekedwa? Bwanji sanatchule iweyo kuti ndiamene unaombera? Chiweruzo chako chayandikira. Think of some people who are already in prison and are wishing if they could be bailed out like what you have done. Are you not setting a bad precedence for the rest that they will try to apply for the bail as what has been done with Kasambara. Iwe ndi munthu womvetsa chisoni zedi.

    1. No Mwaungulu is a proper judge who is very fair and unbiased. Mtambo is a moron whose judgement even shocked the dead. We knew that Kasambala was innocent in as far as the shooting of Mpwiyo is concerned. We need such judges not useless people like Mary Kachale. How can one have an ugly face, ugly figure and also be cruel.

      2. He is still not innocent ,the show continues..Mphwiyo anawaponda Kasambala millions of kwacha cash gate money ,the result was a bullet hole in Mphwiyo’s big head..They are all thieves
        Mphwiyo and Kasambala

  25. Justice Mtambo is the only true judge that we know who has shown that he can convict without fear or favour. Show me which influential person Mwaungulu has convicted in his life at the judiciary. He is one of the judges who has aided and abetted corruption in this country. Shame on you Mwaungulu. Your Judgement will come one day. There is no way you can say prosecution relied on call logs, are you excluding other evidence? Shit judge.

    1. What other evidence???? Give us some facts please; the rule of law is all about facts not hearsay…looks like someone could have been very happy to see Kasambara being denied bail.

    3. Understand the ruling is based on bail application only if you have more evidence bring it forth

    4. I know Dunstain, he is a fearless and very objective judge. Which other evidence do you have which some of us are not aware of. As a supreme court judge, Dunstain is making a ruling based on what the other judge based his ruling on. And there is nothing wrong with appealing to the Supreme court.

      1. He already made his judgement last year on his face book ,it’s all about mwana wakwithu ,not justice

    2. Welcome Mr Kasambara. It was very clear that you were accused wrongly. Even Mr Mphwiyo himself testified that he worked under pressure to implicate you. We all know where pressure was coming from. Do not forget Mtambo, and Kasambara wronged each other over CVs and Robina issue. Keep history.
      Personal grudges can not be brought into court. You act emotionally and you are blinded to see in a clear crystal manner. The way arguments developed cleared showed that the end part of this case will be acquittal.

      1. You can make Kasamba innocent today. But there is a righteous judge who knows everything that happened. That one will will make the final and last judgement on this matter.

    4. Taxpayers are the biggest losers. This guy will re-appear and ask for compensation for false imprisonment. Let us wait and see

      1. You like Lilongwe and blantyre too much ,you will never go back and live among your people ..Link with Tanzania?za chitosi..

      1. Eeeeeee 20 months. Koma ndiye wakhaula bwanji. kkkk ukamacheza ndi mbava ndi choncho. Ndiye madam 20 months yo amangodikilabe. Ena adyamo ndithu. Azimayi a pa Nyasa masiku ano ndi a change pamalo

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