Landgate: Altaf Mahomed pleads ‘not guilty’
One of the Royal Motors Company’s directors, Altaf Mahomed has pleaded not guilty to charges of forging documents that facilitated the grabbing of the land belonging to Lunzu Estate Limited.
Mahomed aged 65 appeared in court on Friday 17th July 2020 to answer to two charges of making a false document with intent to defraud or deceive contrary to Section 351 as read with Section 353 (d) (i) of the Penal Code, and altering a false document contrary to Section 360 of the Penal Code.
He is being represented by lawyer Violet Maganga of Maganga and Company while Lunzu Estate Limited, owned by late General Graciano Matewere, is being represented by private practicing lawyer, Ambokire Salimu who has been given a consent by the Director of Public Prosecution (DPP) to prosecute the matter.
The accused is expected to appear in court again next month to undergo full trial.
Meanwhile, Senior Resident Magistrate, Ackia Mwanyongo has thrown out an order Mahomed obtained in June this year to stop the criminal proceedings.
Mwanyongo agreed with lawyer Salimu’s argument that the order was directed at the Inspector General of Malawi Police and not the plaintiff, adding that the order did not also bind the Court.
The court has since revoked bail granted to the accused by the police following Salimu’s application that there was no evidence of the bail conditions in the file.
The court revoked the police bail and has granted the accused bail on new conditions. Mahomed has been bonded in the sum of K1 million non-cash and two sureties bonded K1 million each, non-cash.
Mahomed on 29th September 1995 allegedly forged sale of a share stock certificates purporting to sell the share stock of Lunzu Estates Limited owned by late General Graciano Matewere, to a company registered to himself and two others.
He allegedly forged signatures of late Matewere, Graciano Matewere Jnr, Colonel Mathias Matewere, and Amina Altaf Mahomed.
The land under dispute is near the Blantyre Campus of the Kamuzu College of Nursing (KCN) next to Kameza Roundabout of the Chileka International Airport Road and is owned by the Matewere family whose last remaining shareholder is Malawi Defence Force (MDF) soldier, Colonel Matewere, after everyone had died.
Nyasa Times understands that Mahomed of Royal Motors and his friends grabbed 150-hectares of land under Lunzu Estate Limited.
It is believed that the forgery and fake transactions were done when late Colonel Matewere was in the Democratic Republic of Congo on peacekeeping mission from 2002 to 2006.
Follow and Subscribe Nyasa TV :