Malawi cashgate convict jailed 3 years: First conviction on money laundering
Top tourism ministry official Treza Namathanga Senzani who is the first convict in the so-called “Cashgate” scandal that led to the suspension of foreign aid has been has been jailed to three years for offences of money laundering.
‘Cashgate’ denotes the systematic skimming of millions of dollars of money from the government payment system.
Trial Judge Ivy Kamanga passed her sentence on Tuesday after more than two hours of delivering her determination.
Senzani, accompanied by her husband and family members, sat calmly in the court as her sentence was being delivered.
Justice Kamanga sentenced Senzani to nine months for a charge of theft and three yrs for money laundering. The sentences will run concurrently.
The judge also ordered the forfeiture of her money and banks account to be taken by the State.
Justice Kamanga said on money laundering an option of K2 million fine cannot be exercised. She pointed out that despite Senzani being first offender, she does not deserve a suspended sentence.
Senzani pleaded guilty to stealing around $150,000 (63 million kwacha) from state coffers, part of a broader swindle worth at least $30 million and was convicted on her own guilty plea.
She was arrested last year after a probe found she issued two government cheques to her own company, which did not provide any goods or services to government.
‘Cashgate’ unravelled following the shooting of former Budget Director Paul Mphwiyo on 14 September 2013. Thereafter, huge sums of money in Malawi Kwacha, South African Rands and US dollars started showing up in unlikely places like car boots or under pillows as the suspects were avoiding formal banking since the unexplained money could have raised eye-brows.
At least 70 people were arrested and are currently facing theft, fraud, corruption and money laundering charges in courts.
Western donor nations, who bank roll at least 40 percent of Malawi’s budget, reacted by pulling the plug on the earmarked US $150m in budgetary support.
‘Cashgate’ is Malawi’s biggest financial scandal in the southern African country’s 50-year history as an independent country.
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THE SENTENCE IS MORE THAN LENIENT.NGATI ZILANGO ZITAKHALE NGATI ZIMENEZI, AMALAWI ADZINGOKHAPIDWIRA KOSATHWA CHIFUKWA ANTHUWA SASIYA
THE SENTENCE IS MORE THAN LENIENT. NGATI ZILANGO ZAKE ZILI ZIMENEZI ANTHUWA ADZINGOBABE
The charging and sentencing shows and encourages that whoever has the access should go on stealing . Worse still Malawians ndife opusa, tulo,non fighters we can’t get angry and demonstrate. One by one all these cashgaters will get free without any death sentence , long sentence ZOPUSA.
Munthu ngati wapezeka olakwa sizikukhuzana ndi kuvotela munthu tiyeni tikambe zomwe zachitika basi
Don’t blame the judge blame the prosecutor. Why did he charge her with theft, a smaller crime, rather than theft by a public servant a very serious crime which attracts max 14 years imprisonment. The prosecutor has cheated us coz the convict is a sister of a DPP guru.
Too harsh you have given her red card and pelnaty at the same time
I guess if we are realistic and accept that issues of law are very technical. Those who steal a lot of money have access to super lawyers while those who steal a bag of fertilizer have no legal support. Nobody is interested in improving the access of goat stealers to the legal aid by employing more legal aid lawyers
zaka zitatu zachepa zedi akanagamula zaka 9 nngat ogwilila
usayankhule mokhuta tidzasiya kuvotera azibambo chifukwa cholankhula mwa bibi ngati umo shupiti
Welldone Judge, in no time she’s out, Tidzacheze.