DPP tells court: ‘MCP presidential candidate benefitted from Lutepo’s cashgate proceeds’

Director of Public Prosecution Mary Kachale told High Court in Zomba in Malawi that stolen from government in cashgate scandal was used to fund the then governing People’s Party (PP) election campaign and also a presidential aspirant of Malawi Congress Party [MCP].

Kachale also commended Lutepo for his disclosure in the declaration statement which she said it was good for the country’s governance.

She said Lutepo’s disclosure has shown that the money that cashgate money was used to fund PP election campaign –where he served as recruitment director – and also funded an MCP presidential candidate to the tune of K11 million.

“His [Lutepo’s] declaration statement raises the issues of political party financing, this is a good governance issue,” said Kachale.

“From the evidence provided we have also known that People’s Party gave K11 million to one of the Malawi Congress Party [MCP] presidential candidates to disturb MCP election and convention and influence the outcome,” the DPP added/

She, however, refused to name the MCP presidential candidate, saying that would disturb the investigations.

Germany agreed to fund a new audit of government finances to find out exactly how much money has been lost and who is to blame.

Katrin Pfeiffer, head of development cooperation at the German embassy in Malawi, said the new forensic audit would cover 2009-2013.

Pfeiffer said there were suggestions that the looting actually took place over a longer period, before 2009, when the President Peter Mutharika’s brother, Bingu wa Mutharika, was in power. He died suddenly in 2012.

Britain is understood to want any investigation to start from 2005 to establish the extent of corruption. The audit will be conducted by PriceWaterhouseCoopers.

The theft led international donors, which bankroll the country’s budget by up to 40%, to pull the plug on aid worth $150m last year until the government in Lilongwe cleans up the situation.

PP claims that loopholes in the payment system introduced a year after Bingu came into power were to blame for the looting of public funds.