Sithole found guilty of Cashgate charges
Former accounts assistant in government, Victor Sithole, became the second civil servant to be convicted in the infamous Cashgate trials after the Lilongwe Magistrate’s Court yesterday found him guilty of money laundering, being found in possession of money suspected to have been stolen and being found with foreign currency without approval from a minister.
In September last year, Sithole was found in possession of $31 800 (about K13.6 million) and R122 400 (about K4.5 million), suspected to have been stolen, at his Area 47 house in Lilongwe.
His arrest, which was later followed by the shooting of then budget director in the Ministry of Finance, Paul Mphwiyo, in September 2013, opened a can of worms that led to several revelations into the Cashgate scandal. Delivering his ruling yesterday morning, senior resident magistrate Patrick Chirwa said the court had proven beyond reasonable doubt that Sithole’s defence in the matter was not satisfactory.
“There was reasonable suspicion that the possession of the money was a result of theft or money obtained unlawfully; the accused had kept his money in unusual places, and his explanation in the court was not satisfactory,” said Chirwa.
Meanwhile, the prosecution team, led by Kamudoni Nyasulu, asked the court for ample time to research on their submissions on the third count of money laundering pending sentencing; saying it was the first time for a money laundering case to be heard in the country’s courts.
“The case cited in this court is mostly related to the United Kingdom and the Republic of South Africa and these countries have their own regime pertaining to sentencing; hence, we seek the court’s indulgence for an adjournment so that we can give fair opinion before sentencing,” said Nyasulu.
Defence lawyer Necton Mhura concurred with the prosecution on the need for adequate time for both teams to make their submissions on the third count.
As soon as the court session ended, there was drama outside the court premises as Sithole’s family tried to bar journalists from taking his pictures.
“You’re not supposed to take pictures of my son,” Sithole’s father shouted as his convicted son tried to chase a photojournalist who had his camera aimed at him.
It took the intervention of police offers to move Sithole from the scene.
Magistrate Chirwa has since adjourned the matter to October 28, 2014 for sentencing.
Sithole’s conviction follows that of former principal secretary Tressa Senzani who was sentenced to three years imprisonment with hard labour on her own plea of guilty on charges of diverting K64 million of taxpayers’ funds to a private company she admitted to.
