Zameer Karim going to court soon, Minister assures Malawians
Home Affairs Minister Richard Chimwendo has assured the nation that the K2.7 billion Malawi Police Service (MPS) food rations deal case involving businessperson Zameer Karim and two senior police officers will go to court soon.
The three—Karim, Commissioner of Police Innocent Bottoman and Senior Superintendent Grant Kachingwe—are accused of conspiring to use public office for the advantage of Karim, trading as Pioneer Investments, to arbitrarily obtain K2.7 billion from Malawi Government.
The trio was arrested in December 2018 following revelations of suspected dubious transactions in the food rations contract.
Minister Chimwendo Banda assured that the graft-busting body was set to prosecute the case.
He was responding to social media activist Onjezani Kenani who has been running series on his Facebook account complaining about the delay of the case to go to court.
Said Chimwendo: “I respect Onjezani Kenani for many reasons including his quest to fight corruption and abuse of office. Whoever told him that we have no money to prosecute Karim lied to him. The case among others [are] coming to court very soon.”
In response, Kenani wrote: “Honourable Chimwendo Richard William Banda, the Minister of Homeland Security whom I hold in highest regard, says Zameer Karim ‘will’ be taken to court ‘very soon’. I will take him at his word and will be back on the Zameer case if no action is seen by 31 December 2020. A future tense such as ‘will’ or adverbs such as ‘very soon’ were useful during the campaign, but now Malawians want the auxiliary verb ‘have’.”
The case generated public interest after a leaked ACB investigation report showed that Karim deposited K145 million in a Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) bank account at Standard Bank whose sole signatory was former president Peter Mutharika.
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If found guilty, he should be deported to give a lesson to other corrupt mwenyes. For the police, they need be locked up and throw the keys away.
So only the “mwenyes” should be taught a lesson ? Not the corrupt Malawians altogether ? Come on dude, set the racism aside, both the corrupt indian and malawians must be taught a lesson. Crime isn’t limited to race, culture, religion or any other jargon – it can be committed by even the most layman of laymans…
Boss we are also waiting for uniform gate.
Kwatentha kwavuta bwana Chimwendo remember whatever you say is listened to not only by the Almighty God but also by the ordinary Malawians and also by the State President. Kodi Amwenye achi Hindi alipo?
There is a lot of big cases and big money but you just focus on small ones and ACB clumps hands on that while these big fishes walking freely and managed to trick and fool them you need to man up we don’t want soon or very soon what we need is we have them here finished okay. Please try to show us the difference which is all what we want to see
It is his line ministry, don’t get surprised.
Because it has come to our attention that it takes apolitical will for ACB to prosecute law breakers.
Chimwendo Banda those issues are beyond your scope of office as Minister
APM had an invisible hand in all this. How did Zameer got hold of his account number to deposit K145 million. Why did they use food rations when the police officers are entitled to allowance when they leave duty station. This was conspiracy to steal. They knew that food rations leave no trace.
Excuse me, but why would a cabinet minister “assure” us that these guys will be tried “soon”? Talk of separation of powers!!
There you go my friend, Separation of power is the jargon the alliance is refusing to understand. Possibly those could be reasons why some of the issues are dragging because nobody seems to know whose responsibility it is. That is the practice observed since these people got the mantle and the rot emanates right from the head whereby you see and hear the president/vice undertaking chores meant to be handled by junior staff in their respective ministries and/or departments. All that is done to cheat Malawians that they are on top of their responsibilities not knowing that they are just… Read more »
Because the case happened in his Ministry………simple…
Fair point. But the minister is part of the executive branch of our govt. He shouldn’t have any say in what the courts are doing, and he shouldn’t be in a position to “assure” us that somebody will be prosecuted “soon”. When we let the executive interfere with our courts, shit happens. That’s why Bakili is still a free man after swindling us of billions. Look, I’ll be the first one to celebrate when this corrupt dude is convicted and sent to jail for life. But I am old enough to remember the times when Kamuzu would stand on a… Read more »
Go to sleep you are drunk
Chimwendo being the Minister of Homeland Security, he is responsible for all activities happening within his Minister. The issue of separation of powers is out of question. He is not ordering the police to arrest people, but he gets reports and briefings about the progress of arrests and cases so he can be on top of things. You do not expect a Minister to claim to have no knowledge of something happening within their Ministry? If that happens, the Minister is careless and is sleeping on the job.