Kasamba, Namata, pay back K24m: Malawi cashgate convicts
Two cashgate convicts – Maxwell Namata and Luke Kasamba – have returned just over K24 million (US$50 955) they stole from government coffers as mitigation for a lenient sentence.
During sentence submissions hearing at Lilongwe High Court, Namata restituted the mis-appropriated K14 million in cash while Kasamba has paid K 4 million and a truck valued by defence at K9million (US$19 108) .
Namata and Kasamba were answering charges linked to encashment of two government cheques totaling K24.1million through Cross Marketing Limited, a company whose director is Kasamba. One cheque was of K14.4 million, while the other was of K9.7 million.
The two were convicted by Judge Annabel Mtalimanja. She will determine the sentence following submissions by the state and defence.
Despite the convicts paying back the money, special prosecutor in the cashgate scandal, Kamdoni Nyasulu, still maintained that the convicts should be given a stiffer custodial sentence, arguing that they have paid back the money for fear of prison sentence and not necessarily out of remorse.
“ This court now has to decide whether this paying back of the money can be considered a remorse because in the whole trial, there have been no evidence to show that the convicts were remorseful,” said Nyasulu.
He told the court that Kasamba, a former government employee was in breach of trust and lost his chance of using cooperation with the state during investigations as mitigation, when he turned against the state on trial and exercised the right to be silent.
“You cannot eat your cake and have it. He gave us a detailed statement that helped our investigations but decided to be silent in court; that is when he ate his cake,” said Nyasulu.
Namata’s lawyer Ralph Kasambara asked Justice Mtalimanja to consider being first offender, the cooperation with the state during investigations by Namata as reasons for remorse.
Kasambara, himself also answering money laundering charges related to cashgate, told the court that by returning the money, the state has recovered the loss it suffered.
And they also need to pay back the cost of prosecuting them.
Eish….Reduce Namata’s sentence to 7 YEARS IMPRiSONMENT instead of 7 + 3 = 10. But also take away all his cars, houses that he and his relatives bought using the stolen money. Amwene, sukulu siinakuthandizeni eti. Munthu wa Degree + Masters kumaba…Eish…
Iwe Maxwell Namata, ndinati ube pangóno.Nde iwe unangopakuliratu K14m!!! I will not accept your repentance money. I will now hand you over to the Malawi Legal System for judgment. Judge Ntalimanja, DEAL WITH NAMATA for he did not obey my orders.
Need for a very stiff sentence, no mercy! How I wish Malawi was like China, bwenzi pano tikukamba za maliro apa!! These selfish thieves deserve death!!!! Koma Namathanga uja , we need to appeal the sentence, too lenient!!
Ehede, ndalama zawawa…unamata mata pa ndalama zokuba.Lero zawawa.LUCY yonso m.mangeni.Iyeyo nde money launderer wa Maxwell. Kwaipa. Ndende.Lucius anaimba – Inu mumati zizakhala choncho mpaka liti abale….ana a Mulungu zangakhale akulira…Tifuna chilungamo.
hehede
Please show mercy judges. They have paid back. Remember “Mlingo womwe mukugwiritsa ntchito kwa ena womwewonso Chauta adzaugwiritsa pa inu”. Forgive each other and your since will be forgiven. How many have never stolen anything since birth??
Ndi uchitsiru waukulu kumanga munthu oti wabweza ndalama zonse, what we want is money back not why and how he has paid bck, zomwe akunena judge yu ndi zopusa zedi mapeto ake apangitsa kuti ena asabweze cifukwa saona kusiyana kobweza ndi kusabweza. Judge ameneyu wandikwiitsa kwambiri akuganiza ngati mbuli
Koma munthu wamkulu munalowa m’kalasi bwinobwino? State prosecutor wasanduka liti judge?? Hehehe koma ndeeeh mwakwiya2 koma mwakwiyila wolakwika….go back to xul..otherwise….zandimvetsa chisoni bwanji??kkkkkkkkkk
Kutopetsa nkhani izi.ine zinandikwana.Olo ndalama zibwezedwe,ndithu zidyedwanso.Anthu ake amenewa?Ife tizisangalala kuti chuma chabwezedwa pamene enanso athyolera nthumba.Wakuba ndi amene wagwidwa.Ayi zizawoneka patsikulo judge wa ma judge akadzakhala pa mpando wakuweluza.wolungama adzawoneka.Ubwino wake nthawi yakhala pang’ono.Ndithu muzizwa anthu inu posachedwa.
APA NDE game yavuta,Chuma cha max pani akuchita kusasa ngati tomato.ma mini bus(quartum)apinyolisa INA watenga ndiwaku kawale(2mita),ina watenga ndi waku area 12.(3mita)pano ndavaso kuti Ku area 49 kuli nyumba ikupita pa mtengo was 20 mita.area 46.kuli plot. Akuona ngati ndife Mbuzi zosezi tilanda.(ACB)ikumatipeza anayalikatu magalimotowatu pa petroda,athu amayithawa,pakuti anayika mayina a athu ene,akuona ngati sitiziwa.tilandabe.call Alice or Lucy H. Or Segi.ine ndendati kuiona ndati aaa yanukha.pakuti ndinangoti ndione ee simene ma phone amabwerera.so stop calling me chonde.katundu kuchita kuyanika chonchija,ayi ndithu zakubadi umasowa kolowera nazo.