Savala weeps in court after her freedom is curtailed: Calls Malawi cashgate prosecutor Kamudoni ‘bad man’

Businesswoman Caroline Savala who was recently convicted of cashgate affair, wept in the High Court in Lilongwe on Friday when Judge Fiona Mwale revoked her bail that saw her staying at home waiting for her sentence on theft and money laundering charges a fortnight ago.

When Judge Mwale ordered Savala’s bail to be revoked, her shoulders were shaking uncontrollably and she was weeping with her head in her hands.

The judge upon the bail revocation said, following Savala’s conviction her “presumption of innocence” ceased and ordered her to be brought back into State custody.

Savala was found guilty of stealing K84 million of government funds. She appeared in the court as her own character witness and narrated her involvement in the Cashgate, accusing special Cashgate prosecutor Kamudoni Nyasulu, of taking great pleasure in her misery.

“I know you are happy. You always wanted me to be jailed,” convicted Savala said in direct attack to prosecutor Nyasulu.

The 33-year-old Lilongwe businessperson stressed that Nyasulu is “ happy” with her conviction.

“ I wish this should one day happen to your children too. You are a bad man,” Savala ranted as Nyasulu appeared unfazed.

During her testimony, Savala, who described herself as God-loving, good-mannered young lady, told the court she was dragged into the cashgate affair by a childhood friend Florence Chatuwa and Ministry of Tourism top official, Leonard Kalonga, both Cashgate suspects.

She told the court that Kalonga collected 90 percent of the funds once cashed from her Carm Civil Engineering Limited accounts, while she shared the 10 percent with Chatuwa who was the go-between of the two.

The court further heard how Savala, between June and July 2013, though she had never done any construction work before and was running a cosmetics shop that sold lipsticks, received government cheques within months from Kalonga amounting to K84 million and K44 million, respectively.

One more character witness is expected to be paraded at the next sitting of the court.