Malawi Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB) Director General Martha Chizuma has alleged in a leaked audio alleged to be of hers that judges and magistrates are corrupt.
The leaked audio, in which Chizuma was speaking with a friend whom she seemed to trust, has been shared widely on social media.
Chizuma alleged in the audio that some judges have been receiving bribes. She mentioned a recent case where she said she went to court knowing that the judge had already been bribed.
“The judge has already been bribed. We knew before going to court, the case was on Friday but we knew by Wednesday that something was wrong,” she said.
Chizuma added that some judges and magistrates have been calling her to apologise to her over questionable judgment delivered by the said judge.
“Meaning there are some good ones who see that this is not justice at all,” she said.
The ACB chief also described some lawyers as corrupt. According to Chizuma, in one case ACB faced six lawyers but the bureau knew that the lawyers were being backed by “20 or 30 corrupt lawyers.”
The ACB boss declared in the audio that the fight against corruption, especially the current case she is handling, will not be won by the justice system alone but through public pressure.
She likened the case to the 2019 Presidential Elections case where she said the “tone was set from the beginning”.