DPP claims Simbi bribed judges to nullify Malawi presidential elections: Wants ACB probe

February 18, 2020 Osman Faiti - Nyasa Times 45 Comments

Democratic Progressive Party (DPP)  has petitioned Anti Corruption Bueau (ACB) to investigate  the five judges of the  High Court who annulled the results of last year’s presidential election, alleging that South Africa-based Malawian construction industry mogul Ashan Simbi Phiri could have bribed them to cancel  President Peter Mutharika’s re-election.

DPP make counter claims of judges bribery
DPP’s Restoration of Justice march
DPP demonstrations held in Blantyre where the party expressed its dissatisfaction with the ruling for repeat exercise in presidential polls

President Mutharika of DPP was narrowly re-elected in the May 2019 election after securing 38% of the vote  when tally sheets arrived at a central vote-counting station having been altered with Tipp-Ex, a correction fluid . Runner-up Lazarus Chakwera secured 35% of the vote while former vice president Saulos Chilima came in third with 20%.

The two opposition candidates challenged the result, alleging that the tally sheets were tampered with and that some polling stations used correction fluid to alter the results.

Chaired by Justice Healey Potani, the judges; Dingiswayo Madise, Ivy Kamanga, Mike Tembo and Redson Kapindu,  overturned the presidential result and ordered a fresh election  to be held by 2 July this year under a 50-plus-one majority electoral system.

But DPP on Monday organised and sponsored demonstration in Blantyre City – held peacefully –   presented a 10-point petition delivered to Blantyre City Council Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Alfred Chanza demanding an investigation of the five judges on alleged corruption with sponsored banners naming Simbi as well as  claiming one of the judges is a relation to the first petitioner Chilima.

Businessman  Simbi Phiri, who is at the centre of a controversy for being awarded a multimillion kwacha water project, has never hidden that  he has been supporting DPP and major opposition Malawi Congress Party (MCP).

Phiri’s company, Khato Holdings Limited, was awarded a $500 million (about K400 billion) project to construct a pipeline supplying water from Lake Malawi to Lilongwe, which has come under intense scrutiny.

But now DPP claims Simbi may have bribed the judges.

Simbi has not commented on the allegations,saying he is consulting his lawyers to sue DPP, leaders of the demonstrations, the bearer of the placard for defamation.

The judges  already to have reported attempted bribery from associates of DPP.

ACB boss Reyneck Matemba on January 20 2020 announced that the bureau had received a letter from Chief Justice Andrew Nyirenda containing allegations of attempted bribery of the Constitution Court.

On January 22, ACB  arrested Thomson Mpinganjira, owner of FDH Bank, who is seen as close to the DPP , and he has since been charged with three counts in relation to the alleged judge bribery attempt and is out on bail.

DPP claim the Chief Justice was also presented with evidence that the opposition MCP and UTM tried to bribe the court using Simbi.

According to the petition, DPP Secretary General, Grezelder Jeffrey, the party is asking for “authorities to safeguard and restore the democratic justice which is under threat.”

In the petition, DPP seeks legal redress on 10 concerns including high level of  hypocrisy  by the Constitutional Court (ConCourt) by nullifying the results, no evidence by ConCourt on use of tippex and tampering of tally sheets affecting the results,

No evidence by ConCourt on unauthorized persons found with ballot paper, lies by United Transformation Party (UTM) on arrest of persons and monitors and failure to transport ballot papers with security personnel as well as allegation of forged signatures on results sheets, according to the petition.

Jeffrey was flanked by former cabinet minister Henry Mussa, veteran politican Brown Mpinganjira whose name features highly in the attempted bribery of the judges,  presidential aide Francis Mphepo  when she presented the petition.

Speaking to party supporters, Mussa said they have “evidence which can be tendered to authorities that some judges of the ConCourt “received bribes and were involved in corrupt dealings in order to bend the judgment in favour of the petitioners.”

Mussa said: “ We demand a probe on the alleged family relations between some judges and the petitioners. As DPP, we can verifiably identify family links between Saulos Chilima and Justice Dingiswayo Madise. We therefore demand for the panel of judges to be investigated to remove any perception that judges are either sympathizers of opposition politics or worked and succumbed to pressure from violent demonstrators.”

Speaking after receiving the petition from DPP, Chanza promised to deliver the petition to the Chief Justice.

 

 

Follow and Subscribe Nyasa TV :
Follow us in Twitter

45 replies on “DPP claims Simbi bribed judges to nullify Malawi presidential elections: Wants ACB probe”

  1. Problem is, zomwe iwe umachita… umaona ngati amzakonso amapanga zomwezo. nde dpp they are good at bribing officials in almost all gvt departments and now that things are against them, they think someone used their style of getting around things. noooo DPP is wrong, this time around dpp is fighting against God himself and time will tell if they will win….but what I know is God is changing things in Malawi and change is inevitable – swallow it cadet

  2. Dont talk about Mpinganjira whom the Judges caught and he comes to work at FDH at night. Komatu akudwala akuluwa

  3. Ku supreme court ko please ma judge athu takudalilani, khomani zenizeni DPP iferetu, MANY Malawian’s don’t want this evil party, hit the last nail on Dpp’s coffin, lest we forget.

  4. Hallucinations and madness in DPP. I am not surprised with this party whose leader is in hibernation. APM and MEC have appealed against the court ruling in the election case and the matter is yet to be heard. You mean to tell me this professor of law does not know that you don’t demonstrate about issues which are in Court and can allow his cadets to make fools of him and his DPP?

    On the other hand I am not surprised considering the party’s leadership is full of thugs and failures who failed to make it to parliament. You know them.

    1. Peter is happy when his cadets insult Judges and he is on top of Malawi so that he can do anything he wants. His leaning pillar now is the MDF as they shield him. Give MDF their money you hid and you think Malawians do not know. If it was in DRC akanamumwaza ma chaka kale kale.

  5. Ma Demo enieni adzakhalapo BOMA likadzangoseka PREMIER BET because eni ma demo achinyamatawo akumakhala busy ku premier bet.

  7. The ref (Jane Ansah) says it was a clear goal. VAR and some assistant referees (Mary Nkosi, Ben Phiri etc) say that APM scored the winning goal by hand. Which which is what (Chenicheni nchiti)?😦

  8. Simbi is smarter than Tom Mpinganjira. DPP yazingwa. Just because Mpinganjira was caught with his pants down bribing judges does not mean Simbi would be that stupid

  9. Suppose if the evidence they have is real, will you call them headless chickens, what if it will be discovered that Dingiswayo Madise is related to Chilima, what if it has been proven that the judges gave their verdict out of fear n not based on factual evidence? What if it will be transpired that Simbi had indeed bribed the judges?

    When you answer these questions you will realize that its better to wait n see before you start castigating them.

  10. nafwa kale ndipashyeni madzi ndingakomoke.
    sipaja dzana anali bwezi lelo mukutaya.koma acita thope madzi ku dpp

  11. It’s not a propaganda. You will see chimene chinameta nkhanga mpala. Evidence can come after the person was burried and claimed the cause of death was poison or drawing in the bathtab. Tidulana zokozera Chaka chake ndichino. We shall know who is a real good neighbor or good fellow church member

  12. These DPP guys are not normal kkkkkkkkkkk…They must not waste our precious time Malawi has been in poverty for a long time its time for well deserving leaders to develop it. We know that their only developments have been quota system, nepotism, regionalism & many more evil acts so let them just shut up & leave Malawi at peace, we don’t want them at all cost.

  13. Why didn’t they bring this issues before the Concourt verdict as they did with Justice Nyirenda. Am starting to believe that this ruling party is totally confused. They want to safeguard their ill assembled worth that’s why they don’t want to go out the government. But surely they are signs for them to go

    1. @chayamba you don’t bring a case based on neither time frame nor bcoz someone has brought one, instead you bring it but based on evidence. At the material you’re talking about, the evidence had not yet been found period!

  15. THIS IS WHAT WE CALL MANICANUTION OF PONDATRIBUTION AND JUMPERACTION OF POLITICS

    THEY WANT TO COZ WAR AND I AM SAYING THEY ARE PLANING TO BOMB PARLIAMENT AND KILL OUR MP’S AND MEMBERS OF PARLIAMENT PRAY HARD THAT YOU SHOULD BE SAVED COZ THIS DPP LISENDE LIBOBO BO BIO

  23. Ndimadabwatu one. Dpp imene ndimayidziwa one koma imeneyi. Kumapeto kwake mumva kuti sitilora. Apumbwa oipa achabechabe

  24. Money can only buy somethings but not evething. Stop worshipping you money, there is God who is above everything. Not that your camp tried to bribe the judges then the other camp succeeded. See the writtigs on the wall. Anthu sakukufunani. Muziona pa May pano. A fool always learn from his own mistake

  25. Now this is stupidity of the highest order. If you won the first time you will win in the re-run mantha bwanji Kodi?

    1. palibe chobisika padziko lapansi pano ndiye simunati mulungu wa shadrek mishek n abedinego niamene akumalizeni basi. kodi dziko mwini wake ni mulungutu. nanga ngati mukukangana ndi majudge ndiye akuzengereni nkhani zanu ndiye ndi ndani . ingopitani ku international court of justice basi . in agame of football there is a winner and a loser . mudziwe izi pano ndiye mukumpalamula mulungu kwambiri , just wait and see what God the of Israel will do to this nation . Isaah 43 frm vs 1-20 God akunena kuti ine ndi mulungu amene ndimabweretsa mtendere kapena nkhondo, ndiye apa mukuchita kumpalamula . tiyeni nazo basi bacherdwani anzanu akuthamanga mbali inai

  26. Koma zinazi, Kamba anga phiri tsopano…Lero, tiwina ma elections, mawa Simbi waongola dzanja ma Judge a Concourt…ndudabwa nazo. Let us just dust ourselves off, pick up the pieces and hit the ground running with the campaigning…time is too short.

    1. A bunch of lunatics, so you didn’t even know that if you have allegations of bribery you were supposed to report to ACB through the Chief Justice? Kuzolowera kuba

  32. Simbi please sue dpp for dragging ur name in this! They have no evidence stupid fools who don’t know the ramifications of there actions!!

    1. Did they thought before planning for the demonstration?
      Simbi and the judges can file for defamation the signatories of the petition.

    1. Amenewa sanati alira ndinthu ,akungoti ichi anena ichi anena mawa atiuzanso
      zina .Simbi phiri walakwa chani?

Comments are closed.