The High Court has dismissed an application by the embattled Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB) director Martha Chizuma to stay a judgment in which Judge Kenyatta Nyirenda refused to recuse himself from presiding over a case involving former Inspector General of Police George Kainja.
Presiding judge in the case, Justice Kenyatta Nyirenda on Monday dismissed the ACB’s application due to lack of substantial legal substance for the judge to recuse himself from the case.
Judge Kenyatta says Chizuma and her team did not give enough good reasons for him chicken out of the case
Former fired Police chief George Kainja is challenging the decision of the ACB to arrest him based on foreign evidence connecting him to Zuneth Sattar, a Malawian British citizen and businessperson who is suspected of corruption crimes
In his earlier ruling, Nyirenda said the Chizuma led ACB failed to make out a case for his recusal and he dismissed the application by ACB to recuse himself from presiding over the case.
Rebuffed: Chizuma
In his ruling on Monday, October 3, 2022 Judge Nyirenda described the ACB application as seriously flawed beyond redemption and based on the mere figment of imagination of Chizuma.
Judge Nyirenda stated eleven reasons why he dismissed the frivolous and legally unsatisfying application.
Chizuma and her team further applied for stay of the judgement on recusal so that it can appeal before the Supreme Court.
However, Nyirenda has since denied to grant stay of the judgement he made earlier for his recusal.
Former IG Kainja: Stuck with Judge Kenyatta Nyirenda
Judge Nyirenda ruled that the court finds that were no any reasonable legal grounds to stay the judgement.
This means, therefore, that Nyirenda will continue to hear the case in which Kainja is challenging the decision of the ACB to arrest him based on foreign evidence.
So far, Chizuma has not made any in-roads on Sattar’s corruption and no one has been charged since she went public that the ACB has enough evidence which the Bureau has received from the British crime agency, the National Crime Agency (NCA).
Since appointed as ACB director over two years ago, Chizuma has never successfully arrested and prosecuted any one to a logical conclusion in a corruption case.
Earlier, Chizuma complained that she was failing to execute her duties effectively and efficiently because of a legal hiccup where ACB needed consent from the office of the Director of Public Prosecution (DPP) to prosecute cases.
However, President Chakwera accented to the bill that sought to remove the requirement to seek consent from the DPP after parliamentarians tabled the bill in the August House.
Human Rights Defenders Coalition (HRDC) chairperson, Gift Trapence said: “Now that there is no longer legal requirement for ACB to seek a consent, Chizuma has no excuse not to perform.
“It’s time Chizuma show her legal teeth and start prosecuting corruption suspects and sending them to prison. She needs to pay back Malawians with results for their unflinching trust and support.”
Governance and political commentator Humphrey Mvula said Chizuma needs to perform or take leave and let others take charge in the fight against corruption.
“All there been is talk, talk and talk but no action. Chizuma has appeared more in media interviews than in the courts.
“Let her show us what she can do. She has no excuse not to perform. She has all she needs to fight corruption,” said Mvula.
