Savala gets 7-year jail term: Malawi ‘cashgate’ convict
The High Court in the Malawi capital, Lilongwe, Monday sentenced businesswoman Caroline Savala who was recently convicted of cashgate affair for systematic theft of government money, to seven years imprisonment with hard labour.
Savala was found guilty of stealing K84 million of government funds.
The 34-year-old Lilongwe businessperson remained calm as Justice Fiona Mwake read her lengthy sentence.
During the trial , Savala told the court she was dragged into the cashgate affair by a childhood friend Florence Chatuwa and Ministry of Tourism top official, Leonard Kalonga, both Cashgate suspects.
She told the court that Kalonga collected 90 percent of the funds once cashed from her Carm Civil Engineering Limited accounts, while she shared the 10 percent with Chatuwa who was the go-between of the two.
The court further heard how Savala, between June and July 2013, though she had never done any construction work before and was running a cosmetics shop that sold lipsticks, received government cheques within months from Kalonga amounting to K84 million and K44 million, respectively.
Savala becomes a third high profile woman to convicted and sentenced in the worst financial scandal in Malawi’s history, dubbed ‘cashgate’
Former Tourism Principal Secretary Treza Senzani, was the first Malawian top official to be sentenced and recently Angella Katengeza was also sentenced to five years imprisonment.
Former president Joyce Banda hired the British auditors when ‘cashgate’ unravelled following the shooting in September 2013 of former Budget Director Paul Mphwiyo.
Following Mphwiyo’s shooting huge sums of money in Malawi Kwacha, South African Rands and US dollars started showing up in unlikely places like car boots or under the pillow as the suspects were avoiding the formal banking sector since the unexplained money could have raised eye-brows.
I cant believe Caroline was involved in this mess. I was her classmate back in Saint Andrews and she was such a nice girl and her dream was to be a charted accountant. Poor girl, I hope she survives this.
Am Richard Makondi wa DPP samangidwa munya manyi.
Sounds very harsh and unreasonable. Koma these judges make these sentences out of or basing on what? Feeling sorry for Carol, its a sad day for you komabe limba mtima and let life go on. Amalawi kupwetekana tokha tokha
Good job fiona please mmangeninso florence hule limzake.
This means 7yrs no sex eti? Thats keeping resources idle.
Misusing resources indeed, mwana ali ndi mwendo uyu wa golide ndiye azikangolowetsa chala 7 years
Ndiye 61billion zikakhala zaka zingati? 7yrs too much ka 84m basi komaso anadyapo 10% basi. be fair judges.
justice somewea a threat to injustice any wea……..oho
CAROLINE SAVALAAAAAAAAA!
Eh! 7 years! Caroline I came back online just for you. Koma looking at the 3 year sentences which are being dished out on cashgate, your 7 years IHL sounds rather harsh.
She was calm because she knows she won’t be spending her nights at Maula. A malawi tulo. Prison gate..
Then Kalonga gets 18years and Mphwiyo 21 years chilungamo chioneke apa!