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The High Court in Zomba on Thursday granted cashgate suspect Osward Lutepo to have access to call logs of former president Joyce Banda and former Budget Director Paul Mphwiyo among others, in a case in which he is answering money laundering and possession of stolen property charges.
Speaking in an interview with the press, Lutepo’s lawyer Osward Mtupila said he made an application for fair trial.
“Among others, we wanted access to the contract that my client had with Malawi Defence Force (MDF) to supply some materials as well as call logs of various personalities including former president Joyce Banda and former Budget Director Paul Mphwiyo. There is a list of people that we will be seeking information from. I will disclose those other names when trial starts”, said Mtupila
He said he will serve an order to the telephone network providers to grant them the said information.
According to Mtupila, Justice Radson Kapindu who presided over the case cautioned the defence to use the information exclusively for the intended purpose and not otherwise.
Mtupila also indicated that Lutepo did not take plea to the new charges as scheduled because the defence also asked for more time in light of the new charges that were brought before the court.
Last week Lutepo also failed to take plea to the new charges as his lawyer had argued that he was served with the notice late.
Lead Prosecutor in cashgate Kamudoni Nyasulu last week filed before the court for the amendment of the new charge sheet, Nyasulu told the court that their investigations revealed that the suspect allegedly stole K4.3 billion and not K3.1 as earlier submitted by the state.
Meanwhile the court has set October 6 for commencement of the trial. The state earlier indicated that they will parade 14 witnesses, 3 investigators and 11 civilians.
