Jigsaw puzzle in Tukula’s arrest

The Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB) yesterday said it was suspicious of a High Court stay order the arrested Director of Public Officers’ Declarations Christopher Tukula and his lawyer Ralph Kasambara claimed they were granted to stop the former’s arrest.

ACB on Friday arrested the newly-appointed assets director, but Kasambara claimed there was a fresh stay order obtained on Thursday stopping the ACB from arresting his client.

But deputy ACB director Reyneck Matemba said in an interview yesterday that despite claims of a fresh court order by Kasambara and Tukula himself, the order was yet to be served on the bureau as of Saturday morning.

Matemba said that Tukula obtained a stay order stopping ACB from arresting him “months ago as the Cashgate case was under investigation”.

Tukula, a lawyer by profession, was then representing one of the suspects in the Cashgate cases.

Matemba said the stay order was still in force until last Thursday, pending judicial review of the matter.

He said Tukula’s lawyers applied to the court to have the stay order extended and hearing of that application was set for October 16.

“This was their own application, but come Thursday, they did not go to court to apply for that extension. Our director of legal and prosecution, Mr. David Bandawe, went there and argued to have the stay order dismissed, and the court dismissed it.”

Matemba said after Tukula’s arrest on Friday, the bureau received communication from Kasambara, claiming he had a fresh court order for the ACB not to arrest Tukula.

Matemba said he instructed investigators to wait for the order, but one hour after knock off time, nobody showed up.

He said ACB was still waiting for the order which had not been presented to them as we went to press.

“We are suspicious of that order, but should we get it, we will respect it. A court order is a court order. But, assuming that this order is indeed there, we are going to challenge it in the Supreme Court.”

Kasambara, in an interview yesterday morning, maintained there was a fresh court order for ACB not to arrest his client.

He referred Nation on Sunday to the registrar of the High Court in Mzuzu, Dick Sankhulani, who asked for more time to check the court’s files as he was not in the office.

Tukula was appointed to the office on August 20 2014 in partial fulfilment of Section 7 of the Public Officers’ (Declaration of Assets, Liabilities and Business Interests) Act which states that public officers must submit details of their assets within three months of being appointed or elected.

He was still being detained at Lilongwe Police Station as of yesterday, according to the ACB.