Zamba, ex-ministers released on court bail

Former Secretary to the President and Cabinet (SPC) Colleen Zamba and two former Cabinet ministers yesterday got court bail after being charged with conspiracy to commit crime and abuse of office. Lilongwe principal resident magistrate Benjamin Chulu granted bail to Zamba and former minister Sosten Gwengwe and Sam Kawale during a court appearance where they were formally charged. The accused are jointly charged with conspiracy to commit a crime and are also individually facing counts of misuse of office.

Prosecutors allege that the trio conspired to defraud the Malawi Government by corruptly awarding a contract to East Bridge Estate SRL for the supply of 600 000 metric tonnes (MT) of fertiliser purportedly in exchange for agricultural produce. However, the fertiliser was not delivered. State prosecutor Prescott Mwayiulipo asked the court for three weeks to prepare disclosures, saying the accused were brought before the court solely to be informed of the reasons for their detention and not to enter a plea.

Private practice lawyer Khumbo Soko, who is representing the trio, did not object to the State’s request, but applied for bail on the basis that the suspects are prominent individuals who would be available for trial. He said Zamba is already on bail in another matter and has been complying with her conditions. Mwayiulipo did not oppose bail but proposed strict conditions, including a cash bond of not less than K2 million, two non-cash sureties bonded at K5 million each, monthly reporting to police, and the surrender of travel documents.

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Soko also did not object to the proposed conditions. The magistrate granted bail on the terms proposed and added that the suspects should be reporting to National Police Headquarters in Lilongwe once a month and surrender travel documents. The charge sheet shows that the three allegedly conspired to advantage East Bridge Estate SRL by corruptly awarding it the contract and agreeing to supply agricultural commodities while fully knowing that the fertiliser had not been delivered and that public procurement procedures were not followed.

Zamba is specifically accused of facilitating the award of the contract without obtaining approval from the Public Procurement and Disposal of Assets Authority (PPDA). On the other hand, Gwengwe, in his capacity as Minister of Finance, is alleged to have facilitated the issuance of two irrevocable, assignable and divisible sovereign guarantees valued at $124.5 million each as payment security instruments for the benefit of East Bridge Estate SRL while Kawale is accused of corruptly facilitating the contract through the Ministry of Agriculture he headed without PPDA authorisation, a move that allegedly resulted in a government loss of K6.2 billion. Gwengwe was arrested on Sunday while Zamba and Kawale were picked on Monday this week.

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