Magistrate Kadwa jailed for two years
Former Blantyre Chief Resident Magistrate, David Kadwa, has been jailed for two years with hard labour following his conviction of three counts of corruption and extortion.
Delivering his sentence, Blantyre Chief resident magistrate Nyakwawa Usiwa Usiwa, gave a two-year jail sentence to Kadwa though his lawyer Justin Dzonzi had prayed to the court in mitigation that he “cannot do most of the basic things alone such as peeing, washing, standing or putting on clothes.”
Dzonzi has indicated that he will lodge an appeal against the sentencing.
Prosecutors were however pleased with the jail sentence, saying his conviction “has not only brought disrepute to the judiciary but also breach of public trust in our judicial system.”
Corrupt practices
Kadwa was convicted of corrupt practices by a public officer for soliciting a K500, 000 ($2 994) as an inducement to take over a case from a fellow magistrate with the intention to acquit the accused.
The second count was on corrupt practices by a public officer for accepting a K150, 000 ($898) as a reward for influencing a court decision in a matter handled by another magistrate.
The third one was on abuse of office as he directed an account assistant to issue a K1 million ($5 988) cheque as bail refund before a case was concluded.
Magistrate Usiwa Usiwa said Anti Corruption Bureau had successfully prosecuted Kadwa and found him guilty as charged.
“Facts presented in the court by the state against Kadwa were not in dispute according to submission made to the court. Kadwa himself admitted to the charges,” he said.
This is not the first case of corruption in the Malawi judiciary.
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