From ACB statements: How Malawi judges rejected K100m to deliver electoral justice
Using statements, the judges provided to the Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB), investigative journalist Golden Matonga unveils how the judges claim they rejected bags stashed with millions in bribe money to deliver justice.
The five judges of the constitutional court— Healy Potani, Redson Kapindu, Ivy Kamanga, Dingiswayo Madise and Mike Tembo—were enjoying a good meal at Ufulu Gardens Hotel in Lilongwe when the call they all had dreaded came through.
They glanced at each other and silently nodded in agreement that the recipient of the call—Justice Potani—the judge president and head of the panel of judges hearing the presidential elections case—should take it .
The judges, out of the sensitivity of the high-profile case, the first in Malawi’s history and its attached security risks had closed themselves from the outside world.
And Justice Potani had warned his colleagues, according to official statement he gave to the corruption busting body, that he was suspicious already of the impending call.
He had been warned, that the businessman was desperately looking for him. Over lunch, he had relayed the message to the fellow panelist judges. They had their suspicions but due to the high stature and respect the caller commanded in the business sector, they reluctantly agreed it would be best if they heard him out.
In his statement, Justice Potani speaks of how Mpinganjira “desperately hunted for him for a meeting” which, he said, he dodged
With blessings of the other member judges, however, Justice Potani says he entertained Mpinganjira’s call once for five minutes on October 9, 2019, when he (Potani) was told that the business mogul had “a parcel” for him.
“He told me he sent a parcel to me for a project through another judge [from the Supreme Court]. He (Mpinganjira) said he was advised by some of the people he was working with to approach me as chairperson [of the five-judge panel],” Potani told ACB in the statement.
And he continued: “I was puzzled, disturbed and confused. I wanted to get more information. I told him (Mpinganjira) that I was in Lilongwe and he said he would fly from Blantyre the next day to meet me to deliver the parcel. But I quickly told him not to.”
Justice Potani then briefed the other four judges on the panel about his conversation with the business mogul that lasted about five minutes and “Due to the sensitivity of the matter, the panel resolved to report the matter to the Chief Justice.”
All this time, Potani recorded the time of the conversation, some of which was via WhatsApp calls and the phone numbers used.
According to the information ACB received, Mpinganjira, acting on behalf of the ruling Democratic People’s Party (DPP)—had told the judge that the ruling party had disbursed cash amounting to K100 million by October 2019 for the five judges to share.
Mpinganjira mentioned a top ranked DPP official (name withheld) as the conduit to deliver the stash of money to the five judges and the said party official had told his DPP colleagues that he was handing over the money to the judges through Supreme Court Justice, Lovemore Chikopa (whom the ACB has since cleared of any wrongdoing.)
Justice Potani and the rest of the judges denies receiving any of the money.
The story is collaborated by a statement by another member of the panel of judges, Justice Tembo, who in a separate statement, told the ACB that, Mpinganjira had sent him a WhatsApp text asking him to provide contact details for Justice Potani.
Justice Tembo’s statement suggests that he agonized over the request to disclose Justice Potani’s phone number but eventually gave in and shared the contacts as he, and in trust, had attended the same church with Mpinganjira in Blantyre since 2010.
He then briefed his colleagues about the conversation and Justice Potani chipped in adding that Mpinganjira, had actually also called him on October 9, 2019 claiming that he was working on a “project” with some judges and lawyers.
Justice Tembo said Mpinganjira then had told him that lawyers for the respondents in the case (incumbent President Peter Mutharika and Malawi Electoral Commission) were also drawing additional cash purportedly to share with the judges.
It was precisely because of the “suspicious” conduct of the lawyers, according to Justice Tembo’s statement, that Mpinganjira indicated he was approaching the judges.
One of lead lawyers for the respondents, according to Justice Tembo’s recollection of Mpinganjira’s words, had drawn millions of kwacha claiming he was going to pay his colleagues in the legal team, but the other lawyers confided that they did not receive anything from him.
Said Justice Tembo: “He [Mpinganjira] told me that the [‘parcels’] ‘project’ was known in the [ruling] DPP leadership, including the principal [President Mutharika].”
Justice Tembo said he asked Mpinganjira why DPP, with a competent team of lawyers, was engaging in attempts to bribe the judges and the business mogul responded: “DPP never rigged the election. DPP was involved in giving cash because there was suspicion that the petitioners were [similarly] mobilizing and being funded by the Indian community to do the same.”
Justice Tembo said in their conversation, that Mpinganjira and he were amazed at how the people allegedly involved were operating like the “mafia” and when Justice Tembo rejected the offer, Mpinganjira changed his statement, suggesting that he was not offering the judges a bribe but a ‘loan from his bank to help them like any other members of the society’.
Mpinganjira, also had another grip of moral scruple, according to Justice Tembo. He regretted to have spoken to Justice Tembo at all, as many had warned Mpinganjira, according to Tembo’s statement that he, [Justice Tembo] was a difficult man, as he was a man of faith.
Months later, Mpinganjira, one of the richest Malawians was to be arrested on the bribery charges and Justices Potani, Tembo and the other three judges, were to arrive at the High Court in Lilongwe, wearing bullet vests and under military escort and delivered the most unprecedented ruling in modern Malawi. The ruling nullified the May 21, 2019 presidential elections and ordered fresh elections.
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Nosense. Not adding up
To everyone that has commented MCP and UTM bribed judges please show us your evidence. PLEASE ! Why are you keeping it a secret, writing down comments will not help you. Please leak the whats app chats, call logs etc.
1. DPP rigged elections…. you don’t believe me go to the courts.
2. A very successful business man was used as a puppet to bribe judges… you don’t believe me go to the ACB.
This not my opinion its called hard facts ! Very hard to swallow as a cadet!
What facts? The courts said there was no rigging and the irregularities did not change the result of the election. Osamva mothawa. Simbi bribes the judges
Give us evidence.Zoti Mpinganjira amafuna kupanga bribe majudge umboni tikuuona nanga wa Simbi ulikut iwe Cadet wa DPP?
Umboni was bribe umakhala was awiri. Wina ali Kuti?
Nanga osangopita ku ACB ndi umboni wakoyo bwanji.Pita panja osamangouwa ngati gulu osaluma
The TONSE alliance campaign is in disarray. Golden Matonga ukuona bwanji? Chilima has had pathetic crowds during his whistle-stops. MUSOVA.
DPP Ndi Mafia….. I don’t know why you bother yourself voting for such a party when they only care for you once every 5 years
Atleast Dpp cares Mcp does not care about human life. Seriously why vote for a n’gona party. Kudyetsa anthu ku n’goni kumanga anthu on mere suspicion without trial. Kupha anthu. Kuka day anthu katundu. Kupha Junan, kupha wapolice ndikumasangalala . Malawians reject Mcp!!
Coleman zako upitenso ku xul vuto la cu ya Bakili ndilimeneli.Care ili pat man?Anthu akuthawa ku stadium under quarantine no ma toilet,phwanya ndi zoona zotere.21 days rock down with no food ganizira Venda poeza chakudya cha daily usawi Chichi? Nanga ku 24 anthu mudaotcha aja? Iwe mwapuya iwe! Iwe! , Undibasope!
This issue is a testimony; When God is with us; nobody will be against us: What scares me is how many cases were determined under the influence of money; what gave these DPP guys confidence is that someone did it and it worked. Shame to the judiciary.
Congratulations to the judges. Really sad that such a respected man could be part of a poorly planned adventure. He has put his life work in jeopardy for nothing. All this respected man had to do was to help his party hire better lawyer and present a stronger case. May God help him
Ma judge, go and help Chilima to campaign. Akuyiwona Nyenkhwetu!
Sensible Malawians know that these judges were bribed by the opposition and that is why they did not annul parliamentary and local government election results despite tippex being used there as well. They slotted in 50+1 to help Chilima and Chakwera. BUT, we are not fools. We know the plot and the fact that the judges took bribes from the opposition.
what about the Mangochi West…..phumatu…..get ur facts correct b4 posting a comment ma khadeti
You really are stupid! Every MP that was cheated can go to the courts. They are not stopping you infact DPP will even lose more house representatives e.g nsanje and mangochi. It is not the job of judges to assume things
Please argue with facts not just for the sake of opening your mouth.
You want facts? Mcp has never won a single election. Any fair election. Mcp always disputes every election. Mcp is a brutal nasty killer party. Mcp will never rule Malawi again.
Lemekeza chigamulo cha liti🙏
Thank you Lord for raising the standards through these your creation xxxxx
When someone has been arrested, it indicates that all evidence is ready and court proceedings should start immediately after arrest. Right now justice is being denied by delay on the part Thom Mpinganjira. If he solicited a bribe, where is the other party on the Judges side? This is a politically motivated case which hence ACB is waiting for elections to see who wins. If DPP wins, this case will be thrown out but if MCP wins, Matemba will take Thom to court to just punish the DPP.
A Mpinganjira koma ndiye mwaona chapwa…..SDA Church…..kodi mu ma tchalichi umu namonso mumapezeka anthu otele…..zovuta kwambili……ayi ndithu koma mulape……
Waiting for the withheld from the DPP camp.You can fool some people sometimes but you can’t fool them all the time.
1. ACB, is this true? Tell us. Has this information been leaked from your office? If not, Where did this reporter get this info from? Where did he get the consent to write things that you are still investigating?
2. I don’t believe that this story is true. Have investigators proved the authenticity of the phone lines, the conversations and WhatsApp messages with the telecommunication providers to show that indeed they belonged to the accused person? I am asking this because nowadays its common especially in other countries to blackmail people using their mobile lines. People can create conversations between two people just to implicate them. Such people can be there in DPP, UDF, MCP, UTM, PP etc.
3. Some things are not adding up here. How can people on a serious mission be asking for phone numbers of their target from his colleagues other than using other means to get to know details of their pray i.e googling on the internet etc?
I am not a learned person on this but the whole thing smacks of blackmail and mudslinging.
This is what happens when an old man watches too many movies and thinks hes Al Capone kikikikiki. But I’m just saying with your own mind please think why would 5 judges want to compromise their jobs
What a straight forward case and arrest was effected by the ACB. Now my biggest headache is ACB why are you taking long to try this case what more evidence do you still need. If you delay and say Chakwera wins it will look like political witch hunting start the case now and now. Or maybe uhhhhhhhh ujeni uyu
The devil is shamed to the glory of God
Eh hehehehehehehe. Angry CADETS have hijacked the comments section. Akulira MWAUKALI 😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂
😆😆😆😆😆🤣🤣kkkkkk
And so what? It’s better to avoid engaging children. Try to follow your own history and see how dirty it is.
These judges took Simbi money. This is all propaganda. How is it possible a shrewd business man like Mpinganjira can expose himself without using 3rd parties(one does not run a bank without a brain). Bodza basi. If it’s true they could have named him in the judges comments in the judgement.Mcp propaganda basi. Zamkutu
Cadet blinded byignorance
A Bauleni, know this:
1. Intelligence and wisdom are two different things. Most rich people are intelligent but they lack wisdom.
2. When God wants to expose evil, he shuts down the mental faculty of the evil party so that they act in a surprisingly careless and foolish manner. Avery good example is what we have here.
If you are sure that he did not do it, just go and represent him in court as his lawyer. The we shall see how wise you yourself are.
The biggest looser of them all is Thom Mpinganjira….what is that he is lacking to went to that extent, I have admired his business skill for quite a long time and had a lot of admiration of him…..Now if I say everything he earned was partly through crooked means will he deny it? He will end up dying with BP out of nothing, I honestly wish him all the best, he don’t deserve this and the DPP will not be there when Chakwera is elected president….
Thom Mpinganjira has courted trouble, his FDH Bank which bought our Malawi Savings Bank at a give away price will be in trouble once Tonse Alliance takes over Government. Imagine Mulli is yet to pay back billions of loans he got from MSB before it was sold at a rediuced price to Mpinganjira.Mulli is now in a self panic mode, racing against time and has resorted to vigorously for APM .But who on this earth can listen to this greedy Mulli? May be his wife,kids and some of his employees!
These greedy and selfish Lomwelisation based policies ,fraudulent and corrupt dealings under Professor Peter Muthalika Government are the ones that have made DPP lose its once solid international and local popularity and trust of the majority of Malawians.DPP is destined to lose the elections to the TONSE ALLIANCE with a big margin.
I agree & I think that they know that.
Mwaona kuti Chilima wathifuka – kusosoka nthenga mwati mutiuze ma bodza. A opposition anapeleka zingati kwa ma judge?
Mwaziwika apa ndi inu. Don’t shift blames here. Munaziwika kale kuti ndi zomwe mumapanga
QUESTIONS: From which region do the majority of Concourt and Supreme court judges come from? Which ones are friends and relatives to Chilima, Chakwera and Joyce Banda whose husband was Chief justice (Richard Banda). Nanga a Matonga, might you be from the same region with the judges? You think we are stupid. Takhala tikukuonanitu.
So the best way you saw to balance this tribal bias was to bribe the judges? Aaaa DPP very stupid
A Malawi tinachangamuka. Chakwera and CHilima have been perpetuating violence encouraged by you judges that they will get power. We say NO to MCP – a violent party which has terrorised us since last year – chasing people from the south, damaging properties and businesses. Chakwera even created Nsundwe Boys. HRDC thugs have been causing havoc.
You and your family say no to MCP. Don’t use the word ‘we’ popeza majority ikufuna mcp yomweyo.
We all who support them from Chitopa to Nsanje and Mchinji to Nkhotakota.
Even though Matonga is trying to write this false story, people are aware that judges were bribed, they wanted Chilima and Chakwera that is why they did not annul the presidential and local poll results.
So mwayamba u investigative journalism eti kuti munene nkhaniyi ndi yabodza? This is ACB report. If you don’t like, get your news from MBC.
Mangochi West parliamentary election results have been annulled by the supreme court again moti kuchitikanso fresh elections….get ur facts correct before posting a comment
Golden Matonga, we all know the real nkhani. The corrupt judges received bribes from the opposition because they wanted Chilima and Chakwera to get to power. I guess ma judge adwala m’pwerere akaona m’mene campaign ikuyendera. Chilima is being anbandoned by UTM members.
Zidali mu parcel yotani, cartons or bags? And how many were they? Some where you have said the Judges denied bags stashed with cash meaning there were 5 bags, one for each Judge but through out the story there’s no seen where the Judges saw the bags. The whole story about WhatsApp calls. To me this is not adding up.
Ok. So who is keeping the K100million and the other bags of cash? Surely I would do with some of that cash. I need to buy an internet bundle for my son’s online school.
You should be ashamed because people know what happened. If tippex was the problem, you would have annuled parliamentary elections and local government results
The good thing is we were listening on radio in Chichewa and we know that Tippex wasn’t the only problem.
If there is a rerun for one Parliamentary seat in Mangochi while many other cases are pending in courts,what does that tell you crying DPP Cadets????
@Banda ndiwe cardet. The Judges did the right thing and nothing has been hidden. Gods anger is on DPzp leadership. You will see how your DPP gurus will be wiped by God
Ma judge mwasowa zonena. It means you pocketed even more money from the opposition. Musova
Hahaha!!!!! Mayo Walira Cadet kuzolowera ma handouts usovenge
Bakha phweeeeee
To all malawians, I have been waiting patiently for this story to come so that I can comment,this is a big nyekhwe of all nyekhwes though one is yet to come. Thanks to all of you Judges for your intergrity.Some DPP cadets have been calling all sorts of names for the job well done,by our judges you are the heroes and heroine of our time and our beautiful country.If I was Peter Munthalika I would have just resign now.Otherwise only bad things are happening to DPP and UDF alliance.I have been saying that DPP is sinking everyday but DPP cadets don’t listen.With this,the DPP has shown the citizens and the whole world that they don’t believe in transparent voting.Shame to the principal mentioned in this story as he new what he was doing.And now he knows what he is doing in his hiding place.There is a time of everything.Time to win cases and time to loose cases.There is time to win presidential election and there is time to loose presidential election.No supporters of good mind can still be in supporting the same party that wanted to bribe judges Kut chilungamo chisayende ngati madzi amutsinje wa Shire.With GOD’S Power chilungamo chinayendabe ngati madzi amutsinje wa shire kumakatsira ku Zambezi river down to the Indian ocean.My question now is, what happens to the people who tried to bribe the judges?My guess answer is that they have to be arrested and throw the keys at the deepest point of lake Malawi,at Usisya in Nkhata bay district.Yes we don’t need such individuals in our man made poverty country.Keeping malawians at such level of poverty is a crime, especially people of lomwe belt where these leaders who happens to be the owners of DPP party comes from.No apologies for that.Our brothers in lomwe belt needs to be liberated from these liars, who just use the people of Thyolo, Mulanje,Phalombe and Chiladzulu for mimba zawo Kut zizikhala zokhuta all the time.Today am happy that the truth of the bribe story has come out, for me and my all Malawians including DPP diehards knows the truth, this information will help us during voting time in June ,we have to send DPP and UDF alliance packing..Am also disappointed with the hiding of one person in the story.Glory to God.Waiting for the name of the second name in this saga.Thom Mpinganjira was doing this bad behaviour with someone, they were two people involved.The citizens demands the name of the second person to be known immediately.
Purely another propagandist stunt by the opposition. Fearing the Muluzi/Mutharika tidal wave in the central region perhaps this is the last card up the sleeves to spin public opinion to their favor.
1. Jane Asanh resigned
2. New MEC commissioners to come
This has disturbed the opposition so much such that they have nothing further to spin public opinion to their favor. Now they will resort into digging these stories perhaps perhaps the momentum can gain. That’s why we say these guys have nothing better to offer Malawians except telling us that DPP is bad. Minus this they are completely zero.
They may have zero stuff but according to current DPP discussions Ansah helped them rig the nullified elections. Now consider that they gave themselves extra votes Peter and Baby got 43.25% whereas Laz and SKC and Chisi got 56.03%. Without the usual rigging that has happened in EVERY multi-party election, how will Peter turn the forthcoming result?
Koma akulu inu. Muli ndi vuto.
Man of faith?? Mbava all these Judges, made their careers on the back of corruption asatinyasepo apa. Ndalama za ena zakoma lero? Malawians courts are full of corruption even Chief Justice Nyirenda confirmed this.
Nde kuti chani pano poti nkhani inadusa kale pano ndi nthawi yovota iweyo ukumabweresa report yako apa for what use? Galu wachabe chabe kusowa zolemba eti? Tatulusani report ya momwe cashgate inayendera timve pano. Izi zinali ndalama zake osati za munthu koma mutiuze za cashgate misonkho yathu timve pano. Fuck off!!!
Mmm man munthuyu sadalakwitse wafotokoza za zimene akuzidziwa ndi report waipeza bwanji ko? Inunso ingopezani report la cash gate lo nde nu ngati zakupwetekani pepani pepani pepani
Kawafunse Ambuyako kusanjika. Cashgate inatulukilidwa nthawi ya JB. It was happening under Bingus watch. APM was there.
Enter Seventh Day, Exit Seventh Day. What is wrong with this organisation? Is it a Government entity or a faith-based entity? The place is full of Seventh day faithfuls and this begins with the top layer.
How does this link to the church nanu a bulutu.
Just join them to find out why they excel.