The Lilongwe Magistrate Court will this afternoon rule on whether or not to grant bail to two former top fiscal officials.

Former Reserve Bank of Malawi Governor Dalitso Kabambe and ex-finance minister Joseph Mwanamvekha were arrested on Tuesday for alleged abuse of office and fraudulent accounting.

The State wants the accused to remain in custody insisting it needs at least seven days to conclude its investigations.

However, the duo’s lawyers objected to their continued incarceration arguing that Kabambe is also on another court-granted bail and that Mwanamvekha is a person who can be trusted.

Defence lawyer, Fostino Maele, further argued that there is no connection between the bail request and the State’s desire to continue investigations.

Nevertheless, Director of Public Prosecutions Steven Kayuni emphasized that the charges leveled against the two are not trivial in nature.

More details to come…