Court Frustrates Chilima’s Defence Counsel

The High Court in Lilongwe has on Tuesday ruled that it is too early for the defence in Vice President Saulos Chilima’s corruption case to seek some of the disclosures deemed sensitive from the State.

The Court says at this stage of the case the Malawi Defence Force ( MDF) cannot release some of the documents which are indeed highly sensitive in nature to be made public.

Judge Redson Kapindu, stressed that “if during the trial such sensitive documents will prove to be relevant to a fair trial for the accused, then the Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB) will have to decide whether to have such sensitive information disclosed or discontinue the case,”

Meanwhile, the court has directed that the defendant and his legal team as well as the Attorney General (AG ) and lead counsel for ACB will be allowed access to “only see basis” of the sensitive documents just to appreciate the courts observations that the information is highly sensitive.

The sought disclosures include minutes of the Defence Council Meeting held on October 16 2020 authorising the procurement of armoured personnel carriers (APCs) and a memorandum of March 2021 from the MDF to President Lazarus Chakwera seeking authorisation to procure APCs from Malachite FZE, a company linked to a business tycoon, Zuneth Sattar, using single sourcing.