RECENT NEWS ON CASHGATE SCANDAL

Chief Suspect in the Cashgate scandal, Oswald Lutepo last Friday admitted to have lied in court. He told the Lilongwe Magistrate’s Court that he lied in his testimony on the 9th April against another suspect Victor Sithole.

The tycoon revealed that, contrary to his early testimony that he had given Sithole K112 million, he instead gave him K130 million.

“I would like to agree that I gave K130 million to Mr. Sithole, but the money was meant for the maize business we had,” said Lutepo in his testimony on Friday.

Sithole is also being accused of being found with unexplained large amount of money in September last year that led to discovery of the massive theft of public money out of Treasury.

“I only came to the court to confirm that I was in maize business with Sithole, but not to confirm that the money he was found in possession of was part of the money he is being accused of,” he said.

Lutepo wrote a letter to Attorney General Kalekeni Kaphale alleging that he was forced to lie under oath in his earlier statements in relation to cashgate scandal.

Lutepo said he was warned that should he refuse to play along he would be implicated in the shooting of former Budget Director Paul Mphwiyo.

One of the cases related to the massive looting of public coughers at the capital Hill dubbed ‘ Cash Gate’ in which businessman Wyson Zinyemba Soko is answering charges of theft money laundering involving about K40 Million is hanging in limbo after three witness have refused to testify.

Three suspects who denied to testify are Chief Tourism officer Leonard Kalonga, George Banda and Michael Mphatso.

State prosecutor, Enock Chibwana confirmed the refusal of the 3 to testify on the matter.

Defence lawyer Henry Kadzakumanja has since disclosed that the denial is true and has told the court about it.

The trial of the attempted murder of former Ministry of Finance budget director Paul Mphwiyo in which lawyer Ralph Kasambara, business tycoons Pika Manondo ,Dauka Manondo, Robert Kadzuwa Macdonald Kumwembe are charged with attempted murder and conspiracy to commit murder has been adjourned to September 22 by the High Court in Lilongwe on Friday.

Justice Michael Mtambo adjourned the case to September 22, 2014 and is expected to run for three days after suspects have pleaded not guilty to charges.

The adjournment followed a request from the lead prosecutor Enock Chibwana who argued that the second prosecution witness, Mphwiyo was supposed to undergo routine medical checkup in South Africa from August 18.

The lead prosecutor said Mphwiyo who implicated former Minister of Lands and Housing, Henry Phoya, returned home solely for the case and asked the court to reconvene on the third week of September, something which did not go well with the defence led by Kasambara himself.

“Your Lord, the money for one of the accused is locked up with the police. If the case takes long, it will lose its value since there are not interests added” Kasambara said.

Public Accounts Committee (PAC) of the Malawi National Assembly Parliament wants to summon again several stake holders in the ongoing probe into how government lost billions of taxpayers’ money in what has come to be called Cashgate.

The committee’s chairperson Alekeni Menyani said a review of the report by members of the previous PAC committee revealed that some of the stake holders who appeared before the previous did not give convincing answers on the matter.

Mphwiyo later on implicated former Minister of Lands, Henry Phoya in his shooting.

An audit by the British audit firm Baker Tilly revealed that in all13 billion Malawi kwacha (about US$30 million) was looted in the scandal.

At least 70 suspects, including Lutepo, were arrested and are currently in court answering fraud and corruption charges.

Mphwiyo` s shooting made the revelation into massive rooting of public funds amounting to K13 Billion during the Joyce Banda regime.