Lutepo pleads guilty, convicted: Malawi cashgate

Businessperson Oswald Lutepo has pleaded guilty to charges of theft and laundering K2.1 billion believed to have been obtained in the plunder of government funds popularly referred to as Cashgate and has been convicted by High Court in Zomba.

Appearing before Justice Redson Kapindu, businessman Lutepo, who was in a wheel chair entered a plea of guilty for his charges.

The Judge convicted Lutepo on his own plea and revoked his bail. He is now in the hands of Prison authorities waiting for sentencing.

Lutepo’s lawyer Osward Mtupila confirmed, saying the convict changed his plea to “guilty” upon his legal advice.

“We analysed the evidence [by the prosecution] on money laundering and concluded that it will be difficult for us to defend,” Ntupila told Nyasa Times in an interview.

“There is no better explaination on the money,” said the lawyer.

Judge Redson Kapindu, said he will deliver his sentence on July 30 this year under various
conditions.

Lutepo is regarded a chief cashgate suspect and has been making media confession on his wrong doing.

A forensic audit report into the plunder of public resources at Capital Hill due to abuse of public finance management tools dubbed ‘Cashgate’ established that K24 billion was stolen between April and September 2013. However, Cashgate dates back to 2005 when the Integrated Financial Management and Information System (Ifmis) was launched.

Through various means, Lutepo allegedly got the second highest payments on the list of individuals amounting to K4.4 billion (US$9.8 million).