Lawyer  Kadzipatike slams ’20-cop tax raid’ as revenge for standing up to Malawi govt

A top lawyer has blasted police and taxmen for launching a mob-handed raid on his offices – branding it a blatant attempt to shut him up. More than 20 police and Malawi Revenue Authority (MRA) officers stormed lawyer George Kadzipatike’s offices in Lilongwe AND Mzuzu on Friday, seizing computers and client files in a shock double swoop, as first reported byNyasa Times. Kadzipatike, who doubles as director of legal affairs for opposition party MCP, says the raid was supposedly over alleged tax issues – but reckons the taxman went about it all wrong.

“I thought if they had tax issues with me, the best way was to engage me,” he fumed. “The first option for a taxman should be to collect tax and not to have taxpayers imprisoned and their businesses disrupted.” But the lawyer isn’t buying the official line – claiming it’s payback, plain and simple. “This action by MRA confirms my fears that I am being victimized for representing MCP and opposition figures in their cases in the Courts and for being among the legislators standing up for justice in the ad-hoc parliamentary committee on the Chikangawa plane crash inquiry,” he blasted.

Worried clients have been left rattled after cops carted off a mountain of files from both offices – and seized personal computers belonging to FIVE lawyers at Jivason and Company in the process. But Kadzipatike insists it’s business as usual, despite the chaos. “I would like to take this opportunity to assure all clients that business at my law firm has not been disrupted,” he said. “We have electronic backup for all the files and where need be, we are going to be photocopying their files from the Courts.”