Court varies Mphwiyo bail conditions

The High Court in Lilongwe has varied bail conditions for former Minister of Finance budget director Paul Mphwiyo who is charged with theft and money laundering K2.1 billion.
Following this development, Mphwiyo will no longer seek permission from the Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB) to travel to South Africa for medical treatment. Instead, he would be getting the same from the court.

The High Court has also granted Mphwiyo permission to travel to South Africa after ACB denied him on two separate occasions for appointments with a doctor on March 16 and April 16 this year.
High Court judge Esmie Chombo yesterday agreed to vary the bail conditions replacing the ACB director with the court as the office to process his permission. However, Mphwiyo’s passport would remain in the custody of the ACB.
The judge further ordered that when leaving South Africa, Mphwiyo would be getting his passport at the check-in counter and upon return to Malawi surrender his passport to the ACB.
ACB deputy director general Reyneck Matemba said they did not object to the application to vary bail conditions and granted permission to travel to South Africa to allow Mphwiyo seek medical review in the interest of applicant, the State and justice.
In October, the court granted Mphwiyo bail on a K10 million bond, his house in Area 43, four sureties amounting to K2 million each and that he should surrender his passport to ACB and seek permission from the graft busting body if he wanted to travel outside Malawi.