Amidst Public Questions, DPP Fostino Maele Discontinues Yet Another Court Case Involving Ruling Party Officials
Public scrutiny is intensifying after the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP), Fostino Maele, discontinued yet another high-profile corruption case involving senior figures linked to the ruling Democratic Progressive Party (DPP), raising renewed questions about accountability in politically sensitive prosecutions.
The discontinued case involved former Cabinet ministers Charles Mchacha and Symon Vuwa Kaunda, former Chief Secretary to the Government Lloyd Muhara, and Bright Kumwembe, all of whom had been facing charges linked to the alleged illegal acquisition of public land belonging to the Department of Forestry in Kanjedza, Blantyre.
Court records seen by Zodiak Online indicate that Judge Edda Ngwira-Mwakibinga certified the discontinuance on May 26, 2026, formally bringing to an end a case that had remained in the courts for six years without proceeding to full trial.
The allegations centred on claims that the disputed land was irregularly acquired through abuse of office and influence during the period when Mchacha and Kaunda served as Cabinet ministers in the former DPP administration.
When contacted for comment, Ministry of Justice spokesperson Frank Namangale said the ministry could not comment on the discontinuance, noting that such matters are only addressed after the DPP briefs Parliament’s Legal Affairs Committee.
This latest discontinuance adds to growing public concern over a broader pattern in which several high-profile corruption and abuse-of-office prosecutions involving politically exposed individuals have either stalled for years or ultimately been withdrawn before judicial determination.
In recent years, multiple cases involving senior public officials—particularly those linked to allegations of land allocations, procurement irregularities, and misuse of public resources—have similarly ended in discontinuances or procedural withdrawals. While authorities have not always provided detailed public explanations, these outcomes have increasingly fuelled debate about prosecutorial independence, case preparedness, and the effectiveness of long-running investigations that fail to reach trial.
Civil society observers argue that the repeated collapse of such cases risks weakening public confidence in the justice system, especially where proceedings span years without resolution, only to end without a verdict on guilt or innocence.
The latest development is therefore expected to intensify pressure on the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions to explain not only the rationale behind this specific decision, but also the broader trend of discontinued prosecutions in politically sensitive corruption cases.
As attention now shifts to Parliament’s Legal Affairs Committee, the DPP is expected to face tough questions over whether justice is being fully pursued—or quietly abandoned—in some of the country’s most consequential corruption allegations.
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