Mutharika washes hands clean over judges bribery claims: ‘Court must decide polls case purely based on facts’

President Peter Mutharika has washed his hands clean over the Constitutional Court judges bribery allegations, saying the judges should be left alone to make the election petition case without financial inducements.

In a statement made available to Nyasa Times on Saturday issued by his lawyers and signed by Samuel Tembenu, Mutharika says he is dismayed by the alleged offers to bribe the Constitutional Court judges.

“Our client (President Mutharika), as a custodian of the Constitution of the Republic of Malawi, strongly believes that the judiciary must be allowed to decide cases without pressure, inducements or any or any extraneous factors,” reads the letter in part.

The letter says Mutharika believes that the court must decide the case “purely based on facts properly adduced before it and the applicable law.”

The letter says Mutharika believes in the Independence of the judiciary, saying Malawians should refrain from actions that can compromise the integrity and independence of the judiciary.

The Anti-Corruption Bureau this week arrested a financial services business tycoon Thomson Mpinganjira  on allegations that he wanted to bribe the Constitutional Court judges hearing the election case.

The judges are expected to make their ruling January 31.