Oscar Kapito defends himself in K150m BWB fraud case: Demands Nedbank CCTV recordings

First accused person in the Blantyre Water Board (BWB) fraud case, Oscar Kapito on Monday  testified on his own behalf  when the trial entered defence.

Kapito  and  second accused Brian Makote, a former BWB corporate client officer, are answering charges of money laundering and theft to which they have all pleaded not guilty.

They are suspected to have opened a parallel welfare fund account at Nedbank where four cheques from Malawi Police Service (MPS) and State Residences amounting to K150 million were deposited between May and August 2017.

The fraud was exposed in August 2017 after Makote allegedly withdrew K20 million from the account before fleeing to Botswana through Mwanza border. He was later arrested by International Police (Interpol) in that country.

Kapito, suspected to have been a signatory of the parallel account, was the first to be arrested last September while Makote first appeared before the same court after he was extradited to the country.

In his defence,  Kapito denied any involvement in the case,  rebutting claims that he tried to cash a K20 cheque from Nedbank under a false name Moses B. Mussa.

He demanded that the court produces CCTV recordings of him in the bank as evidence.

Southern Region prosecution officer Christopher Katani said there was no need for CCTV recording as more evidence  was gathered from officers from the bank and a driver’s license that he left in the bank which has his face.

But Kapito denied that he has ever owned a driver’s licence.

The driver’s license in question bears the name of Moses D Mussa.

Kapito also told the court that he personally does not know his co-accused, Makote.

“I have known him in the court. I have never interacted with him. In short, I don’t know him personally,” he said.

Last month, the suspects were found with a case to answer.

Senior resident magistrate Viva Nyimba adjourned the case to Friday, April 13 for cross examination.

 

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