Malawi former President Bakili Muluzi who was arrested Thursday morning by Anti Corruption Bureau on allegations of graft has been granted bail and Blantyre Magistrate Court has committed his case to the High Court.Muluzi his case was in afternoon c on charges of stealing US$11
million in donor money, the country’s Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB) said
on Thursday.
"We re-arrested him and charged him with 87 counts on allegations of
siphoning over $11 million of donor money into his private account,
ACB Director Alex Nampota told reporters.
The charges, among others, accuse Muluzi of using MK1.7 billion in
public funds meant for development between 1994 and 2004 while in
office as the country's president.
The ACB also wants Muluzi to explain why the money was found in his personal accounts.
In addition, there is the issue of the construction of a plush office
complex in the heart of Blantyre known as Keza Office Park and how he
acquired motor vehicles for his UDF party.
But Muluzi who denies any wrong doing "exercised his right to remain
silent" when he surrendered himself to the Bureau in the morning.
He appeared at Blantyre Magistrate Court in the afternoon for committal
proceedings. Chief Resident Magistrate Mark Tembo committed the matter
to High Court for trial.
Muluzi was charged alongside his former secretary at State House, Lyness Whisky.
His lawyer Fahad Assani said there were multiplicities of charges pressed against Muluzi.
There are 87 charges which they have pressed on Muluzi. They can be
divided into four. One charge is multiplied four times using different
language, said Assani.
They [ACB] are raising queries that he has not been able to explain
how he built Keza even though in 2006 an explanation was made that he
borrowed the money from [Standard] Bank, said Assani.
He also said ACB wants Muluzi to explain how he acquired the 106 UDF
vehicles in 2004 and the material he bought in South Africa for the
campaign which successfully ushered President Bingu wa Mutharika to
power.
The lawyer said they will demand ACB's evidence to study in the process of the trial.
Muluzi looked calm and composed. He travelled to court in dark blue
Merc and thousands of supporters trooped in to give him solidarity and
chanted Obama! Obama! Obama! in reference to the charismatic US
President.
There was heavy presence of armed police officers in Blantyre as Muluzi left for his home, BCA.
He however stopped on the way and briefly urged his supporter to return to their jobs and be calm.
Muluzi's aide, Humphrey Mvula told the BBC’s Network Africa programme
the former Malawian president had nothing to hide and dismissed the
case as a witch-hunt.
He said it was "meant to bar or muscle out someone from the process, to
keep someone so busy within the context of the courtroom" in a "typical
African way of running away from competition".
Malawi political analyst Rafiq Hajat told Network Africa: "If a court
case is initiated against a candidate, their candidacy is immediately
put into doubt. I think the political stratagem is fairly obvious."