The High Court in Lilongwe on Monday released on bail former Budget Director Paul Mphwiyo after spending 10 days in Police cell.
Mphwiyo and his three co-accused were arrested on November 7, 2015 by the Lilongwe fiscal Police in connection to the plunder of public funds dubbed cashgate.
On Wednesday last week, the State Prosecutor Mary Kachale objected Mphwiyo’s bail application due to what she called new emerging information on the case.
Granting the bail on Monday, the court ordered Mphwiyo to surrender another house plus two sureties each to pay K2 million ($3,404.83) not cash. The court said previous bail conditions, including surrendering his passport and reporting to police once a week, remain unchanged.
Despite being granted bail, Mphwiyo slept in Police cell as his bail was processed late and is expected to be released today.
Speaking in an interview with the press after the case, Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB) deputy director general Reyneck Matemba said the complications and further delay to Mphwiyo’s release came about due to the defence plea that he does not have another house.
Mphwiyo, who was arrested alongside 17 others, including civil servants Auzius Kazombo-Mwale, Clemence Mmadzi and Roosevelt Ndovi.
They are jointly accused of defrauding government about K2.4 billion ($4,085,800).
