Mpinganjira unable to appear before court, case ruling set for March 22

Financial business mogul Thom Mpinganjira will on March 22 know whether he has a case to answer or not in the judge bribery case trial.

This is after The High Court  Judge Dorothy DeGabrielle  on Tuesday morning adjourned the case to March 22 2021.

The case was coming today for a ruling on whether he has a case to answer on allegations of attempting to bribe five High Court judges who constituted the team that sat as Constitutional Court in the May 21 2019 presidential election nullification petition case, but Mpinganjira was not in court.

Court officials said Mpinganjira is not feeling well.

Lawyers said on March 22, 2021, the court will hear if Mpinganjira will be fit to be in court.

One of Mpinganjira’s lawyers Fostino Maele said the business mogul was ill to come to court on Tuesday.

Mpinganjira, who resigned as FDH Holdings Limited chairperson, was arrested in January 2020 and is among others, answering charges under the Corruption Practice Act such as offering an advantage to a public officer, attempting to induce public officers to exercise functions of their offices corruptly and purportedly attempting to influence public officers by offering K100 million to Constitutional Court judges.

Mpinganjira pleaded not guilty to all counts.

During oral submissions, Mpinganjira’s lawyer Patrice Nkhono said while Mpinganjira purportedly offered a parcel to the five-judge panel of the High Court sitting as Constitutional Court hearing the presidential election nullification  petition, the State failed to show any element of corruption in the offer.

“Justice  Healey Potani is on record saying he never discussed the contents of the parcel with the defendant and insinuated that for all he knew it could have been face masks or bottled water,” said Nkhono.

Nkhono was also surprised with the State ‘strange’ request to court that if it finds Mpinganjira has no case to answer, then the judge should not acquit him but allow the State to amend the charges.