Lawyer Mbeta, Judge Kenyatta implicated in scam: Sheriffs close down AHCX over K2 bn debt

Sheriffs have closed down AHL Group’s subsidiary company AHCX Commodities Exchange over a K2 billion debt but the action has opened a pandora’s box on some ‘suspicious’ court orders and executions.

Justice Kenyata Nyirenda
Justice Kenyata Nyirenda

The Sheriffs action to close down AHCX head office in Lilongwe last week comes hot on the wheels of another crackdown on one of the commercial banks FDH Bank in Blantyre over a court order execution of about K785 million.

Nyasa Times can reveal that the two cases involve the same lawyer, judge and an accessor of damages, a High Court assistant Registrar and this has raised eyebrows of foul play.

Private practice lawyer Frank  Mbeta has been taking his cases to one judge and one judge only, Justice Kenyatta Nyirenda of the High Court and the assessment of damages are being done one none other than Simeon Mdeza, Assistant Registrar of the High Court.

The execution of the orders is what has raised alarm and caught the attention of graft bursting body the Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB).

After getting a ruling from Kenyatta, Mdeza is always handy to do the assessment of damages and before the offending party is given time to either pay the adjudged amount, Mbeta is always on time to get a warrant of execution and set the Sheriffs on the leash.

Nyasa Times can reveal that in civil cause number 374 of 2015 where Oil and Protein Company Limited which is demanding K1, 861, 358, 126.25 and UDS 171,000 (K123, 120, 000) from AHL Commodities Exchange which was handled by Justice Nyirenda,  Mbeta rushed to get a warrant of execution soon after the assessment of damages and the Sheriffs moved in to close down AHL Commodities Exchange Head Office in Lilongwe without being given chance for negotiation of payment.

It is also true of another civil cause number 384 of 2014 where Maranatha Girls academy is demanding a total of K784, 830, 909.16 from FDH Bank for loss of business.

Nyasa Times can also reveal that in this case too, Justice Kenyatta Nyirenda presided over it and the assessment of damages was done by Mdeza and the lawyer for Maranatha was Mbeta.

In this case too, after getting the judgment and assessment of damages, Mbeta got a warrant of execution and again leashed the Sheriffs to pounce on FDH Bank.

Ironically, Mdeza set an appeal hearing brought in by FDH Bank lawyers challenging the assessment of damages at 2pm a day after delivering his ruling on the assessment of damages.

But our investigations have found out that before Mdeza could hear the case at 2pm that day, Mbeta went to him and made him sign a warrant of execution at 8am on the same day for a matter he was expected to hear both sides at 2pm. The Sheriffs pounced on FDH Bank at 9 am, an hour after the signing of the warrant of execution.

Insiders at the High Court confided in us that the way the two cases have been handled have raised eyebrows and caught the attention of ACB.

Nyasa Times investigations have also found that the Sheriffs fees in the AHL Commodities Exchange case was a whopping K200 million while in the Maranatha/FDH case is K117 million.

We have also found out that this money does not go to government account number one as all other government revenue.

“I understand Mbeta is demanding 30% of the K2 billion in the AHL Commodities Exchange case and another 30% of K785 million in the Maranatha/FDH case. Maybe that is how he used underhand tactics to get the money, there is too much money involved here,” said one legal practitioner.

Most legal practitioners Nyasa Times spoke to expressed surprise in the way Mbeta handled the two cases describing it ‘the tort way of litigation’.

Insiders also said Anti Corruption Bureau is following up on the issue and has already taken statements from some of the lawyers involved in the cases.

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28 replies on “Lawyer Mbeta, Judge Kenyatta implicated in scam: Sheriffs close down AHCX over K2 bn debt”

  1. Thats typical of Kinyata always in funny judgments he is compromised and has out lived his relevance.

  2. Mayi kalanga ine (OMG!).
    This is a fine attempt at investigative journalism, and it’s commendable.
    But it seems to lack convincing evidence, as much of the evidence given seems to be peripheral, and perhaps based on rumor. It would also help if we were told, even a hint about, the source of the information, or the leak. Credibility would be enhanced.
    Is the degree of corruption in our government, and businesses now the same as it is in Kenya? If so, we are in real trouble. If not yet, the authorities must act quickly to stem the evil tide!

  3. Kenyatta Nyirenda does not deserve to be judge. He is serious manipulator. But the man must know that he can sometimes fool some people, but can not fool all the people all times. Time will tell.

  4. Judge Kenyatta Nyirenda should be fired.He is just a crook judge in a sheep skin .Kenyatta loves money more than to see justice prevail.First ,anagulitsa Dziko la Malawi kwa Peter Munthalika ,DPP itabera mavoti.Instead of Vote Recount anamfumbayitsa K20 Million a Peter Munthalika and DPP.Second ndi milandu iwiriyi ikunenedwa apayi ya Corruption judgements,and thirdly,ndi zimene sitikudziwa milandu wachita polandira ziphiphu nthawi yonseyi pamene tonse sitimadziwa zomwe zikuchitika.He is not deserve to be a judge now.People can’t trust him any way.FIRE JUDGE KENYATTA NYIRENDA NOW.

  5. These cases need to be looked seriously and the Malawi Govt must move quickly to address the corruption in the courts and some judges. We must learn from the Kenya scenario were Govt, The President’s moved to strip off the judges by declaring some of the judges whom they felt were corrupt but of course proper investigations must be done. In Kenya the Govt found that the judges were corrupt and were behaving corruptly and removed most judges just overnight with them having no recourse. This has been done many places and Malawi will not be different if the judiciary has to be cleansed. Ask Kenya how they went about it otherwise if this continues our Country is going to pay big time from these corrupt practices.

  6. That’s Malawi. No where else. In Social and Dev. Studies I learnt that always the developing nations like Nigeria, S. Africa and others are characterised by high levels of crimes and corruption. So am not surprised with the poorest country of all [Malawi] to be the order of the day.

  7. FDH linked to Peter Mutharika who in turn appoints and directs actions of ACB.

    Peter got govt money through MSB cheap sale to Thom Mpinganjira.

    WapalamulA chutedze…chayamba kuyabwa

  8. FDH linked to Peter Mutharika who in turn appoints and directs actions of ACB.

    Peter got govt money through MSB cheap sale to Thom Mpinganjira.

    WapalamulA chutedze

  9. Nyasatimes it will help you a lot if you could be getting journalists who have knowledge in a particular field before publicising your stories here. You need a journalist who understands law instead of making yourselves fools by attacking people without any basis. You have marked Judge Kenyatta because he rightfully interpretted what the law says regarding the announcement of electoral results. Me as a lawyer I did not see anything wrong that he did but somehow since Nyasatimes is known for getting bribes to put up cooked stories, I am not surprised with this one here.

  10. Ma lawyer a pa chanco avuta pa malawi.Mumati onsewa milandu yake adzikayitenga kuti kuti apeze two tambala? kusolola basi….

  11. La 40 likakwana! Ndi lawyer yemwe amaperekanso K2mil kwa officer wa IT ku MRA kuti afufute infor ya tax embezzlement ya Shayyan uja

  12. How many Blantyre High Court Judges are there? Some High Court Judges handle murder cases, some handle cashgate cases. By the way, it’s news to me that a lawyer can choose a judge. Doesn’t the High Court committee (?) choose the judge? Could also be that Judge Nyirenda is the one available most of the times. I don’t see how Judge Nyirenda is implicated here.

  13. Muwadziwa lero ife tinazidziwa kale koma timasowa ko chita report. Its only if the two are first suspended that ACB can investigate properly. What is MLS doing

  14. Frank Mbeta ndiamene anatenga injunction ya peter mutharika kuti peter-yo dzimuyendere bwino pachisankho , tsopano a judge Kenyatta ndiamene analamura kuti chisankho chinayenda bwino …
    Ndiye ndikuti , tsiku la 40 Lima lakwana . Matongo any nonse

  15. O………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..O
    Some of us said this already . . .
    . . . Whenever you see the title “judge” accompanied by the name “Kenyatta Nyirenda”; just know that something or everything about that case is wrong.

    And we continued to say . . .
    . . . There are more reasons than less; to believe that judge Kenyatta nyirenda is corrrupt to the bone marrow. This was clearly displayed, among others; from his choice of such piercing words as “50% must be paid immediately before an appeal commences” in the Maranatha case. Which palpably scintillates the judge’s impatience to have his share.

    Are we not vindicated now, just as many others had also observed?
    …………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..
    This judge makes very strange bedroom and dark-corner rulings – twisting facts when the naked mind sees otherwise. And about the dishonesty of Malawian lawyers, nde takamba kale izi.

    . . . It should be put on record, however; that a corrupt justice system scares away investors. Thus, your (Lawyers, judges) greed is negatively affecting the whole economy.
    . . . Such news as this is embarrassing, not to you lawyers and judges (since you have no morals hence a sense of responsibility) but to the whole country.

    Its high time therefore, our injustice system got rid of such enemies of progress as this judge Kenyatta Nyirenda and lawyer Mbeta. Otherwise, Malawi’s injustice system long lost its credibility, if at all there was any, at some point in time.
    O……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….O

  16. MTHARIKA WAS SWORN IN
    AT MID NIGHT
    AFTER electlon
    After the same kenyatta
    Gave him the seat

    What did the ACB DO ,??
    ZEROO

    APANSO ZIII

  17. Apa zitomveka ndithu. Corruption and tribalism at its best. Frank Mbeta must be from the North and is hiding his last name. We said so many times here how fishy the court acted in FDH Bank case but some people from the Thengere Land were just saying mfwe mfwe mfwe. Nanga muti chani apa?

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