The Supreme Court of Appeal on Tuesday thrown out an application by former budget director Paul Mphwiyo to stop hearing of the infamous K4 billion cashgate case.
Justice of the Supreme Court of Appeal Lovemore Chikopa shot down the application to stop the hearing of Mphwiyo and 18 others pending an appeal.
Paul Mphwiyo
The accused appealed against the refusal by High Court Judge Ruth Chinangwa to re-start hearing the case after having taken it over from Justice Esme Chombo (retired) and after the court concluded hearing the case.
In August 2022, Justice Chinangwa indicated at the end of hearing the case that she intended to deliver a judgment no later than June 2023.
The accused raised the question of whether or not the High Court has jurisdiction to hear and determine their case.
However, in his ruling, Justice Chikopa said that the court agrees that the applicants are raising serious issues worth consideration on appeal but the court has serious doubts about whether this was an appropriate case in which the proceedings in the High Court before Justice Chinangwa can be stopped pending the hearing and determination of the appeal.
According to Chikopa, Mphwiyo, and the 18 others had plenty of time to have raised the appeal and it could have been disposed of had they acted with speed, hence declined to stay the proceedings in the High Court.
On 23rd September, 2022, Justice Chikopa also dismissed another application by the Mphwiyo and the 18 others to have their case re-started.
