The Blantyre Senior Resident Magistrate’s Court on Friday ruled in favour of Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB), allowing it to amend a charge sheet in a case business mogul Abdul Karim Batatawala is facing fraud charges.
Batatawala, alongside former Department of Immigration and Citizenship Services chief immigration officer Elvis Thodi, Immigration’s commissioner responsible for operations Fletcher Nyirenda and deputy director Limbani Chawinga, are facing multiple charges that include conspiracy to defraud government and money laundering.
Way into the trial and after eight State witnesses testified, the bureau applied to amend the charge sheet by bringing fresh counts and additional witnesses, but the defence objected the application, arguing it was going to prejudice the case of the accused.
But making his ruling on the application, presiding magistrate Martin Chipofya allowed ACB to amend the charge sheet, bring in additional witnesses and make fresh disclosures, arguing he did not find a law that prevents the bureau from doing so.
He said if the defence reasoning was allowed, it would make it difficult for the State to prosecute other cases in future.
“The State should be allowed to bring all evidence for the court to make and arrive at a just decision. The law permits them to recall witnesses,” Chipofya said, adding the State retains the power to amend the charge sheet.
On the defence argument that amending the charge sheet and bringing additional witnesses would subject the accused to unfair trial, the magistrate said there were safeguards to protect the accused such as making an application to recall witnesses for a fresh trial.
But the court ordered the bureau not to charge any of the accused with more than six counts on same facts. It further directed that the bureau should select number of charges and file the proposed charges by November 23 2022.
The magistrate set December 1 2023 for plea taking on the new counts.
The ACB director general Martha Chizuma was not in court but was represented by lawyer Imran Saidi.
Earlier defence lawyer Nuru Alide, representing the second accused Thodi, lawyer David Kanyenda representing third accused Nyirenda and lawyer Fostino Maele representing Chawinga, adopted arguments presented by Batatawala’s lawyer Alexious Nampota in objecting to the charge sheet amendment.
Batatawala’s firm made the supplies to the department in 2009 and the contract was extended in 2010 but the State alleges procedures were not followed to extend the contract
