Court quashes extra charge of money laundering for Chaponda
The Zomba Chief Resident Magistrate Paul Chiotcha on Wednesday threw out an additional charge of money laundering against former minister of Agriculture, Irrigation and Water Development George Chaponda.
State lawyers brought to the court an amended charge sheet for Chaponda in which they added an extra charge of money laundering
But Chiotcha dismissed the extra charge for Chaponda after he noted that it lacked sufficient particulars.
“You can bring the charge again if you gather enough evidence, but there is no substance at the moment” ruled the magistrate.
Chaponda is answering three charges out of the four which include giving false information to ACB, influencing a public officer to misuse his position and possession of foreign currency while Rashid Tayub, director of Transglobe Produce Limited, is answering to the charge of persuading a public officer to misuse his position. They both pleaded not guilty.
The Court earlier heard an application by lawyer for Tayub, Jai Banda applied for a split case.
Banda argued that Chaponda’s case has more charges and is dragging while Tayub is answering one charge.
The court will make a ruling on the same Thursday afternoon.
The former Cabinet minister alongside Tayub, a Transglobe Produce Limited director and Grace Mijiga-Mhango, chairperson of the Grain Traders and Processors Association of Malawi (GTPA), were arrested by the Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB) on suspicion of corruption relating to procurement of government maize from Zambia.
Recently, Tayub’s lawyer asked the court to have his matter heard separately but the State opposed to the application.
Chaponda was fired from Cabinet on February 22 2017 following public pressure after the ACB instituted investigations on allegations of his involvement in the K26 billion maize import deal from Zambia, popularly known as maizegate.
He is currently vice president of the ruling Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) in the Southern Region.
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Thieves must be punished and those who advocate raping through songs must be punished too. To be fair with the law though, those with names that suggest indecency such as “Kachindamoto and Kwataine” must also be punished and stopped from using the names. Government must use the law in its entirety, not selectively.
If the present government is serious about fighting corruption. It needs to make a very good example of a minister who was caught with his hands in the till, otherwise our country will not come out of the abyss it finds itself in. Corruption is the worst evil happening in the developing world today and many government officials are in denial. These kind of people should rot in jail for a long time. Sitting government like ours need to remove the blinkers and see why our country is the poorest in the world. Who can be proud of that? May… Read more »
if chaponda adzamangindwe 7 years or more ndidzadziwa kuti ma lawyer apa malawi alibe ziphuphu.
mr chiponda adalakwitsa poba chimanga komaso kuotcha nyumba yaboma ngakhale umboni palibe
koma this man committed crinimal scandal/offence.
in malawi theres no rain now, amalawi ayamba kuvutika maka akumudzi because of this self created problem yoti could have been avoided, how can malawians be quiet on this issue abale?
munthu ndi nduna akubaso pamene his having more benefits from the same taxpayers akuwaberawo
This greedy… HE MUST BE ARRESTED
Kamlepo said it kuti Atsanzike kkkkkkkkkkkk