Malawi’s treason case to kick off April 4
Malawi’s Directorate of Public Prosecutions (DPP) says trial for the 11 treason suspects, who were arrested two weeks ago, is to start next Thursday, April 4.
Four of the accused Peter Mutharika, Goodall Gondwe, Jean Kalilani and Bright Msaka will appear in court to take plea on perjury charges.
Spokesperson for State prosecutors Apoche Itimu said on Friday the DPP has already filed the perjury charges in the court and summoned the four to appear in court to take plea.
“The charges emanate from false statements they made to the Commission of Inquiry into circumstances of the death of the late president Professor Bingu wa Mutharika and into the political transition following his death,” said Itimu.
She added: “The filling of these charges marks the beginning of trials of people suspected to have committed various offences during the transition of State power following the death of the late president.”
The four were arrested on March 11 along seven others for the role they played during the death of Mutharika in April last year and in handling the transition. They are accused of trying to circumvent the Constitution to prevent the then vice-president Joyce Banda to take over as president soon after Mutharika’s death.
The arrests followed the release of a report by the commission appointed by President Banda to investigate the death of Mutharika and issues surrounding the succession.
Others in the case include former miniters Symon Vuwa Kaunda, Patricia Kaliati, Henry Mussa; former deputy ministers Nicholas Dausi and Kondwani Nankhumwa, Msaka’s deputy Necton Mhura and Mutharika’s guard commander Duncan Mwapasa.
Another suspect is Mutharika’s legal adviser Allan Ntata who is yet to be arrested.
The 11 suspects, including Ntata, who was charged in absentia, were formally charged with treason when they appeared before Lilongwe senior resident magistrate Ruth Chinangwa on Wednesday, March 13 before the court committed the case to the High Court.
The suspects were slapped with seven charges with Mutharika, Gondwe, Kalirani and Msaka being jointly charged with conspiring to commit a felony by “conspiring within yourselves and some other unknown person to commit treason.”
Mutharika, Msaka and Kalirani were also jointly charged with giving false evidence to the Commission of Inquiry.
Mwapasa is yet to be charged as he was not on the charge sheet when the eight of the accused appeared in court also in the absence of Gondwe and Kalirani who were in hospital at the time. By then, Mwapasa was already on police bail while the rest of the accused were granted bail on Thursday, March 14.
