Sithole denied bail in Cashgate case

The High Court in Lilongwe has denied bail to suspect in the ongoing Cashgate trial, Victor Sithole, who has been in custody since September last year.

Sithole is answering charges of being found in possession of unexplained large amounts of money.

Judge Ivy Kamanga said on Friday that Sithole’s lawyer Kalekeni Kaphale had failed to sufficiently prove that the accused person was not a flight risk after he attempted to apply for another passport when he was granted bail.

Sithole was acquitted on another charge of possession of stolen vehicle, but the magistrate’s court ordered that he remain in custody because his bail was revoked on another charge, a situation his lawyers have challenged.

Kamanga said the magistrate’s court did not err to revoke Sithole’s bail and order that he remain in custody because he had another case before the same court in which he flouted bail conditions.

But Kamanga said the State was required to release Sithole unless there were other lawful reasons.

“It appears there are other lawful reasons for his incarceration, so appeal for bail is dismissed,” Kamanga said.

Kaphale had argued that the court did not properly revoke the bail on the criminal case on charges of theft and money laundering when the criminal case on charge of possession of stolen vehicle was also pending.

However, the prosecution through principal State advocate Dziko Malunda opposed the application for bail, saying Sithole did not explain why he did not surrender his passport when the court set the bail condition in September.

Sithole, 27, was one of the first suspects to be arrested in the Cashgate.