Hearing of the case in which former minister of Home Affairs and Internal Security Uladi Mussa is accused of issuing passports to foreign nationals continues today at Lilongwe High Court
High Court Justice Chifundo Kachale yesterday adjourned the case following a request from the defence team for more time to scrutinise documents tendered in court as evidence.
Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB) principal investigator Exton Kamkwete, who is also the 16th officer witnessing against Mussa, presented memos, bank deposit slips and letters of application from foreign nationals.
State prosecutor Kamdoni Nyasulu said Kamkwete presented the final evidence that will help to prove beyond doubt that Mussa committed a crime by illegally issuing passports to foreign nationals.
He said the passports will also be used as evidence in court.
“We are done with presenting evidence. What is remaining is up to the court to determine whether the accused has a case to answer or not,” said Nyasulu.
The court was supposed to proceed, but the defence team asked Kachale to adjourn the case to today to study the bunch of documents presented before cross-examining the ACB official.
Mussa, who is also the ruling Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) vice-president for the Centre, is accused of illegally issuing Malawian passports and business permits to over 40 Ugandan, Rwandan and Burundian nationals.
Part of the evidence tendered in court showed that some foreigners, about six of them, were legally given business and residence permits. This number increased when Mussa was minister since some transactions were handled at ministerial level.
The evidence further revealed that the bank deposit slips which were attached to documents were fake and that there were no original documents at the Immigration Department since most of the transactions were done at ministerial level.
According to the caution statement which Pascal Luwasa, one of the foreigners made and was a beneficiary from the scam, most of the transactions showing a bloated number of beneficiaries were done at ministerial level.
