Former Malawi Minister of Finance Joseph Mwanamvekha and former Central Bank Governor Dalitso Kabambe who are accused of presenting false economic figures have spent another night in police custody as Lilongwe Senior Resident Magistrate Florence Msekandiana reserved bail ruling in the case for Friday 10 December.
The two who are also aspirants for the former ruling and opposition Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) presidency appeared before the court Thursday afternoon following their arrest on Sunday and Monday.
They both pleaded not guilty to charges of abuse of office and false accounting.
Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) Steven Kayuni asked Senior Resident Magistrate Florence Msekandiana that the suspects should remain in police custody for seven more days to allow the state to finalize investigations since the probe involved people close to the suspects. He added that the two may tamper with evidence.
However, lawyers for the two argued that the suspects do not know the identities of the witnesses and the evidence may still be available at the International Monetary Fund, the institution to which the two are accused of presenting the false information.
The lawyers also argued that the state should have completed investigations before making arrests.
Msekandiana then reserved her ruling for Friday at 2 PM.
Mwanamvekha served as Finance Minister in the DPP administration between 2019 and 2020, during which Kabambe was also Reserve Bank Governor.
Police said yesterday that Mwanamvekha and Kabambe procured and masterminded the falsification of Gross Liability and Net Reserve Base Returns with the intent to make the International Monetary Fund believe that the Government of Malawi was meeting conditions connected to the extended credit facility.
“As a result of this scheme IMF suspended the said extended credit facility to the prejudice of innocent ordinary Malawians,” said James Kadadzera, Malawi Police spokesperson.
