Lilongwe – The owner of a major Malawian bank was convicted and jailed on Friday for attempting to bribe five High Court judges in a failed bid to sway 2019 election results.
Thom Mpinganjira, owner of Malawi’s FDH Bank, was convicted and remanded to Chichiri Prison to await sentencing.
Mpinganjira was charged with six counts under the Corrupt Practices Act, including attempting to make a 100-million-kwacha ($123 000) bribe to the judges hearing the election case.
On Friday, High Court judge Dorothy DeGabriele said evidence showed the banker had tried to bribe the judges to rule in favour of the Democratic Progressive Party, which was defeated in the last elections.
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She said “trustworthy transcripts” showed that Mpinganjira had not denied attempting to bribe Tembo and four other judges.
Throughout the hearing, Mpinganjira claimed he was simply asking if the judges could receive parcels.
However, DeGabriele rejected his claims, saying the business magnate had pushed his bribe offers even after judges had repudiated them.
Mpinganjira’s lawyer Tamando Chokhotho asked for a suspended sentence, saying his client’s health was weak as a result of Covid-19.
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Prosecutor Reyneck Matemba argued that the tycoon should be jailed.
“From the word go, the convict has been working so hard to kill this case,” Matemba said. “He wasn’t remorseful, and he is not even remorseful now.”
Mpinganjira sponsors a major football team, the Wanderers Football Club, and owns several businesses in addition to the bank.
Elections first held in May 2019 were marred by widespread irregularities, including the use of correction fluid to tamper with result sheets.
The courts scrapped the vote and ordered a re-run, which was then won by President Lazarus Chakwera.
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Source: AFP
Picture: Getty Images
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