The High Court of Malawi Financial Crimes Division has ordered the state to submit some documents which the defence demanded in the case involving vice president Saulos Chilima.
The direction follows request by the defence for the release of the documents by the Malawi Defence Force (MDF) following state’s refusal to release the documents on the basis that they are classified.
Chilima is accused of corruptly receiving funds from businessperson Zuneth Sattar to secure government contracts.
Judge Redson Kapindu also discharged Chilima of two counts out of five bordering on breach of trust by public officers.
In an interview, Khumbo Soko, one of Chilima’s lawyers, welcomed the direction the court has made.
“Generally, we are happy with the decision that the court has handed down today. The court has agreed with us in a lot of instances because that was exactly had been saying that they actually held it from the Judge himself, and we thought that was quite irregular.
“Our client has been discharged it means that he no longer has to worry about these two counts. So far, we are concerned it was a good day at the office,” applauded Soko.
Whilst acknowledging the ruling on the application, the Ant-Corruption Bureau (ACB) has maintained that the requested documents still remain confidential as they border on national security.
“These documents are of highly confidentiality because they concern the security of the country, and in that regard, we still only believe that when the court looks at the documents, it will still make similar apprehension like the one we made,” said Imran Saidi, lawyer representing ACB.
The Court has since adjourned the case to Monday, the 22nd of January 2024 where the State is expected to file documents requested by Chilima.
The vice president was arrested last year by the Bureau in relation to investigation involving businessperson Zuneth Sattar.
