No decision to drop Muluzi charges , ACB czar says case against Malawi ex-president to continue

The Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB)  director Lucas Kondowe  has said  the graft-busting body will continue the trial involving former president Bakili Muluzi to its logical conclusion.

Kondowe said no decision has been made to drop the corruption charges despite that the lead prosecutor Reyneck Matemba recused himself from the case and it has been draining money close to K1.7billion yet the  state simply has no objective material evidence that Muluzi was  siphoning from state coffers during his decade as leader of the nation.

Muluzi, who ruled the southern African country between 1994 and 2004,  and his co-accused, his former personal assistant Lyness Violet Whisky,stand accused of diverting at least US$ 13 million of what the State had claimed was donor money meant for various government development projects to his personal accounts.

He denies the charges, and vehemently alleged they were pressed on him for political persecution by his successor Bingu wa Mutharika.

Court documents seen by Nyasa Times shows there is no evidence of donor aid money going into Muluzi account or siphoning of public funds.

Director for the state corruption-busting body, Kondowe said despite lead prosecutor Matemba has opted out of the case on “personal grounds”, the bureau will pursue further the matter.

He said  they will put whatever material they have before court  to decide, if it is not suffici ent enough they will acquit him and it’s sufficient enough they will c onvict him.

‘‘The bureau will map the way forward after reviewing the case with the legal team,’’ Kondowe said, as quoted in the press.

He insisted the case will continue.

However, Judge Mclean Kamwambe,  will hear the State on how they want to proceed on May 12 before ruling on whether to discharge the case as applied by defence team led by Tamando Chokotho.

Chokhotho  asked the court to discharge the Muluzi  arguing the State had no prosecutor and  that in criminal proceedings, there is a requirement that matters must have specific dates and that they must be heard within those specific dates.