Wapona Kita snubs ACB
Private practice lawyer Wapona Kita on Monday refused to take questions from the Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB) on how he managed to get a court bail for lawyer, politician and activist Ralph Kasambara.
The Bureau summoned Kita to their offices in Malawi’s commercial city, Blantyre, where he told the ACB panel it was against lawyer-client privilege to disclose how he handled the bail application.
He said Section 51 of the Corrupt Practice Act (CPA) guarantees lawyer-client privilege where a legal practitioner is not supposed to disclose dealings with his/her client unless the client decides so voluntarily.
He said the ACB wanted to know the role he played to have Kasambara, still under police custody at Mwaiwathu Private Hospital in Blantyre for a heart problem, obtained a court bail when the Judiciary is on strike.
ACB director Alex Nampota, in an interview on Monday, expressed deep concern on the behaviour by lawyers on Kasambara’s side on ACB’s investigation. Nampota argued that it was totally unethical for the lawyers to rush to the media to disclose what was discussed indoors.
