Kamudoni asks court to disqualify Kasambara from defending cashgate suspects
Former Justice Minister Ralph Kasambara , who is one of those answering charges of money laundering involving more than K5 billion and other charges surrounding Malawi’s cashgate scandal, had demanded that special state prosecutor Kamudoni Nyasulu not to continue handling the case but now Nyasulu has applied to High Court in Lilongwe to disqualify Kasambara.
Nyasulu said Kasambara should be disquaified from representing Cashgate suspects on grounds that he is either a suspect or witness in the cases.
Kasambara, who is representing Caroline Savala in Cashgate trials is defending himself after he was found with a case to answer in the shooting and attempted murder of former budget director Paul Mphwiyo outside the gate of his Area 43 residence in Lilongwe on September 13 2013
Nyasulu argues in his application that there is not only potential for conflict, but actual conflict of interest between Kasambara and
defendants in cases involving fraud in government between 2012 and 2013.
“(Mr) Kasambara represented (businessperson and politician) Osward Lutepo in transactions connected to the cases of fraud in the government between 2012 and 2013. Both Kasambara and Osward Lutepo are answering charges of fraud
involving funds in government between 2012 and 2013,” reads an application by Nyasulu.
“Evidence also shows that both Kasambara and Osward Lutepo were members of a syndicate in the frauds involving funds from government between 2012 and 2013”.
Kasambara is on record to have objected to Nyasulu continuing with the cashgate case.
“The question is: does the law allow for a special prosecutor? If the answer is negative it follows automatically that he has no capacity to prosecute this mater. The sum total is that all we have been going through is an exercise in futility,” said Kasambara.
He also questioned the process Nyasulu was appointed arguing that it was not in line with the Public Finance Management Act, Public Procurement Act and Public Audit Act.
Said Kasambara: “I will not support short-cuts in the pretence of special prosecutions.”
However, Nyasulu argued that the defense cited the law selectively and the submissions were speculative.
He also said that it is not the role of the court to investigate the appointment of public servants.
In one of the counts, Kasambara and Pika Manondo are being charged of money laundering in which it is alleged that Kasambara and Manondo between 22 April 2013 and 10 January 2014, acting in concert and in furtherance of a common unlawful purpose, each or the others or all of them had in their possession proceeds of crime, namely eleven (11) motor vehicles and Five Billion Six Hundred Sixteen Million Nine Hundred Eighty One Thousand Seven Hundred Fifty One Kwacha (K5,616,981,751.00).
The charge sheet indicates that the two knew or had reason to believe represented in whole or in part directly or indirectly stolen money.
The two are also expected to be charged with Conspiracy.
The charge sheet states that Kasambara and Manondo between 20 January 2013 and 10 January 2014 “conspired together to acquire proceeds of crime; to wit property which they knew or had reason to believe represented in whole or in part directly or indirectly money stolen from the government.”
Kasambara, Kita, Manondo and Ralph and Arnold Associates are all expected to answer a charge of possession of property suspected of being stolen in which they are accused that on or about 29 July 2013 at Nedbank Ginnery Corner Branch in the City of Blantyre had in their possession Fifty Five Million Kwacha (K55,000,000) which is reasonably suspected to have been stolen or unlawfully obtained.
Manondo has another charge of possession of property suspected of being stolen, contrary to Section 329 of the Penal Code.
The charge sheet says that between 3 June 2013 and 1 January 2014 Manondo had in his possession 11 motor vehicles and Twenty Two Million Eight Hundred Fifty Three Thousand Seventeen Kwacha Thirty Ni n e Tambala (K22,853,017.39) suspected to have been stolen or unlawfully obtained.
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Sven, please don’t expose your stupidity. Nobody is saying Ralph should walk free if he is found guilty nor escape the law from punishing him if found guilty. Don’t bring regionalism here, kamudoni. Judge mtambo and Ralph are all From the north. I am also from the north. What some of us are saying is that kamudoni is wrong to bring the issue of conflict of intetest now when he should have done so right at the start of the case nearly a year ago. Many people told them about this conflict of interest but they ignored us completely. Kamudoni,… Read more »
Who is kasambara after all?kuderera kamunthu kakumpoto kopotoka maganizo.
The comments here are really interesting, Kasambara might be correct since we have had several precedence where people who have cases in court were made eligible to contest in election as MPs, Presidents and the like. Even people on treason charges have been free to stand for elections even for the high office because they not been proven guilty, it is not about Kasambara being from the north BUT the common practice we have seen in Malawi. Sankho silipindula, izi ndizimene tikukolora from sankho.
am tired
THERE IS NO CASE HERE.START WITH PETER MRTHALIKA HE IS THE ONE WITH A CASE TO ANSWER MBAVA
reading through some comments by ralph’s sympathizers, (either they are clearly such by virtue of being also from the north like he is or prolly they simply and stupidly merely idolize him) one wonders that so even if indeed ralph was plainly caught on the wrong side of the law, shouldn’t he be in a position to face up the same law we deem he serves and honors? or wat in the hell is this motherfucker for him to think he may b above the law, a demigod or something? mwapwala ake ndi nonse omusapota for sure!!
Those who say Kasambara should not represent himself are wrong. You must first repeal the law . Since the law allows that freedom, Kasambara will represent himself. If it is a bad law, then let us wait until it is repealed.
KAMDONI and Mtambo are all playing games by laying weak foundations! Even if I am not a lawyer, Kasambara uses both reason and memory while the rest of our ayers remain at he level of memory. They entangle themselves left and right. These cases will not end at all. Kasambara is causing the other lawyers dance malipenga /chilimika. Kasambara is my man and chigumbuli. For those of you who do not know Chigumbuli, let me tell you ‘chigumbuli’ is a fish that is rarely caught in a drug net. No matter how wide you spread your net., this type of… Read more »
Kamudoni as far as I am concerned is very stupid. He is childish by retaliating to bar Kasambara simply because Ralph has asked him recluse himself from the case. Instead of defending himself like what judge mtambo did, he chooses instead to prevent Ralph from representing others in court. Just defend yourself as to why you should not be reclused from this case rather than retaliating with a counter claim of conflict of interest which was supposed to have been picked up at the start of the case by the same prosecution. Where were you, the attorney general and the… Read more »
Kasambala woyeeee! Ladies and gentlemen, Kasambala is a genius. Verily I tell you, no lawyer has been jailed since time in memorial. Kasambala remains innocent and free.