Defence quash ACB submissions in Chaponda case: ‘A contradiction to own statements’
Lawyers for former minister of Agriculture, Irrigation and Water Development George Chaponda and Transglobe’s Director Rashid Tayub in the corruption-related case on Monday described oral submissions by the Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB) as lacking substance and full of contradictions.
ACB arrested Chaponda, the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) vice-president for Southern Region, last year alongside Tayub for suspected corrupt acts in the maize procurement transaction.
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 Tayub is answering to the charge of persuading a public officer to misuse his position. They both pleaded not guilty.
The State had time for oral submissions before Zomba Senior Resident Magistrate Paul Chiotcha makes a ruling of case or no case to answer.
This was after lead prosecutor MacMillan Chakhala had told the court that he believes the State had made out a case.
Chakhala said “we are faced with a made up defence specifically for a particular charge.”
He accused the defence of skirting around the actual charge of “attempt to instruct Admarc CEO Foster Mulumbe to offer a contract to supply maize” but instead dwelled much on the basis that he didn’t instruct.
Chakhala further told the court that the relationship between Chaponda and Tayub was that of a person trying to build a relationship with prominent people.
“Tayub is a person who was building a good relationship with the Minister even if the flour donation was made before he was appointed Agriculture minister,” said Chakhala.
On the foreign currency permit issued by Minister of Finance Goodall Gondwe, Chakhala said the court should look at the wording of it
“The wording was that the permit was given to Dr George Chaponda, MP and Minister of Agriculture. That, the court should critically look into it,” he said
In signing off, Chakhala said there was enough evidence that Tayub tried his best to persuade Mulumbe for a contract.
“The court should trace the steps that the accused took to achieve what he wanted. Thats why at the end of the day, he got the contract.”
However, lawyer for Chaponda, Tamando Chokhotho, described the submissions as not worth much.
“We believe the court cannot be swayed by those arguments. They lacked substance and were toyed strongly to contradict their own witnesses,” he said.
Chokhotho said they are of the view that the court will base it’s ruling on what the witnesses said.
His counterpart Jai Banda lawyer for Tayub said the prosecution had failed to establish a case against his the Transglobe director.
“Whatever happened, there was no persuading,” he said.
The case has been adjourned to May 18 when the judge is expected to make its ruling.
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DPP self-grandiosity & bragging is so infectious that even the defendant’s attorney has now catched it. Rather than presenting a fair counter-argument to cast reasonable doubt in state’s submission the defense lawyer is busy discrediting his counterpart as empty/lacking substance. It sounds like an attack on academic qualifications. But in life it is not always that people with higher academic qualifications speak substance nor can LIES be converted to substance. Often it’s thieves who say lies. The accused has been very inconsistent all through. It is on record that Dausi and Mussa categorically refused to collude with lies of Blue… Read more »
Chilungamo kuyenda ngati Madzi! Tinamyata ife kwa nthawi.Congratulations Dr. George Chaponda. We wish you all the best.
ACB yathu ndiyopusa period! You don’t start a big issue like this one without proper basis. They relied on George Chaponda’s public perception and unfortunately a lot us were wrong! Stepping aside or firing him as agriculture minister was enough but not arresting him. Malawi government will pay him
Mbava zimadziwana kolowela, awa achoke m’boma basi.
ACB kupangira dala zautsiru kuti Chaponda awine. Tikuwonani.
Thieves
KALOSKE FROM ZAMBIA
IS READY TO TESTIFY !!
WHY COMPLICATING THINGS ??
Anthu munkaputsika ndi kamlepo pomwe ankangofuna kudya ma allowance kupita zambia. Zopusa basi
lawyers defending thieves. Do you really believe that these were not involved in corruption. Do you really believe that the fire that gutted Chaponda office was an accident.
This is not a surprise at all.If you look at this issue objectively ACB has always lacked substance in their arguments against Chaponda.The problem is that a lot of us were misguided by the media who have been bias in their reporting since the start of the case but It is now clear that he will win this case.
If the court found oral submissions by the Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB) lacking substance then there is nothing the judge could have done but dismissing it.Lets not hate Chaponda for presenting his case well.
Nanu a Agenda Setting Theory learn to think.Do you think Chaponda would make it obvious like that if he were to do it.They wanted to play with your mind like that kuti muziti Chaponda anasowetsa evidence chifukwa anadziwa kuti adzaluza milanduyi.Mu office ya Minister ku capital simukhala ngati mu warehouse kuti mungakhale ma pepala mbwe.More over the time fire gutted Chaponda’s office, nkuti milanduyi itayamba kale meaning that kunakhala kutenga evidence anakakhala atatenga kale.
I love how everybody was castigating my MP Hon. George Chaponda on facebook when the maizegate issues came out and now that the truth is slowly coming out anthu ayamba kupinda michira.anthu amafuna kumangopanga comment pa issue yomwe sakuidziwa lero ndi izi the court has quashed the ACB submissions.This man is innocent and generous ndipo i will vote again! in 2019
I fail to understand when one says Chaponda wakuba.Munthu amaba chinthu chomwe sichinasowe? Its funny how Many Malawians particularly the elite were fooled by this hoax. But let us not forget that we are a nation governed by laws and not personal emotions displayed on social media, through MCP owned Times Group or overemotional George Kasakula. Facts are important in every case. Malawi government did not lose any single tambala from actions of the former agriculture minister. If you have been following the case you can agree with me that this timely and not only will George Chaponda win the… Read more »
With what is happening in the DPP, i can easily believe what a very senior member of the party told me that it was indeed it was Chilima behind Chaponda’s downfall.He wanted him dented as a thief so that he shouldn’t have a chance of succeeding Mutharika in 2019.Chaponda being from the lomwe belt is the closest to the president and the most educated in the DPP after Mutharika himself.Remember he is a lawyer from Yale University. Koma zamilanduzi awina.
George Chaponda will win this case! And not because he is DPP but because there is no enough evidence against him. Misuse of his office is an ethical issue which he paid for by being sucked koma osati being jailed.It goes without saying he will be paid damages.
This is not a surprise at all.If you look at this issue objectively ACB has always lacked substance in their arguments against Chaponda.The problem is that a lot of us were misguided by the media who have been bias in their reporting since the start of the case but It is now clear that he will win this case.
Ndiozosachitanso kubisa kuti Chaponda anawina nkhani ya chimangayi.Anthu ankafuna kumuonongera mbiri nkuluyu kuti amuphumitse u president. I don’t know about you but I believe Chilima had a hand in Chaponda’s downfall.
Anthu aku DPP Kwaoko anangodana ndi Chaponda chifukwa ankaona ngati Peter Mutharika amusiyila u president 2019.Koma kunena chilungamo panalibepo nkhani yoti mpakana munthu nkumangidwira.
It goes without saying that Chaponda has no case to answer. We just got excited with people like Kamlepo Kalua , Chidanti Malunga and his friends who knew he was innocent from the start but wanted to travel to Zambia and get money in form parliamentary committee allowances.
The George Chaponda I know and the one I read about in media are totally different.You might know this but the George Chaponda I worked with at the ministry of education during the Bingu Era is very strict, committed to work and disciplined.
Mulungu siocheza naye.Anthu omwe amatukwanidwa ndi dziko lapansi pa zinthu are rewarded mwa paderadera kuti titengelepo phunziro
If you have been following the proceedings ACB kuchulutsa ma excuse ever since the case started. This is only fair to the accused, otherwise George Chaponda suffered public humiliation for nothing.
GOOD NEWS FINALLY! Chaponda is innocent and soon TIMES GROUP mothandizana ndi KASAKULA, MADALITSO MUSSA, will pay him money for defamation.
Koma anthu ndioipa.Anadziwa kuti Chaponda will in the end be cleared and that’s why adaotcha dala ma office a ministry of agriculture cholinga adzati Chaponda wasowetsa evidence and Malawians should continue hating him.
Journalist don’t write anything good about George Chaponda simply because amati mkuluyu ndioumila.Thats why aliyense anamuukila nthawi imodzi koma he didn’t steal anything.Its good that we can now see the truth
Nanu inu! Tikukuonanitu.