By Vincent Gunde
The Magistrate Court in Lilongwe will on Thursday 20th March, 2025 deliver its ruling on bail application to DPP Vice President for the Centre Alfred Gangata who was arrested for the offense of possessing a fake 2018 Malawi School Certificate of Educations (MSCE) Certificate.
The fake certificate issue was proved to be not true the records from the Malawi National Examinations Board (MANEB) are showing that Gangata legally sat for the examinations and was awarded with a Malawi School Certificate of Educations (MSCE) Certificate.
Appearing before court on Wednesday afternoon, State witness failed to prove beyond reasonable doubts Gangata’s charges making those following court proceeding to shake their heads as if they have horns in disbelief.
Speaking to DPP supporters who thronged the court to give Gangata’s support, DPPs National Director of Women Mary Thom Navicha, appealed to DPP members not to be afraid but to take away fear claiming that on the 16th September, 2025 the DPP under Professor Arthur Peter Mutharika will win the elections in a return to proven leadership.
Navicha appealed for unity amongst DPP members during these trying times saying even though some of the DPP members were hacked with pangas and beaten up by MCP thugs at Area 18 in Lilongwe, this should not make them to retreat but to go forward in “OSATOPA AND OSAFOOKA slogan”
“Let me thank each one of you for giving support to Gangata, from Kanengo Police Station to Area 3, to Lumbadzi and back to Area 3 court, even Professor Mutharika is encouraging you not to be afraid,” she said.
Navicha said Gangata because he complained through his lawyers that he was feeling unwell, he has been taken to hospital claiming that at first the court rejected this but it took his lawyers to fight hard making the judge hearing the case to let Gangata go for medical treatment.
And writing in a statement earlier on the day, an Independent Presidential Aspirant Isaiah Emmanuel Sunganimoyo, urged the Malawi Government and Police to ensure that Gangata’s rights are respected and that he receives a fair trial pleading with the court that if there is no concrete evidence to support the allegations, it is only just to release him.
Sunganimoyo said the constant transfer of Gangata from one court to another is not only unfair but also a waste of taxpayers’ money and further prolonging detention advising the government to prioritize justice and accountability over expediency.
He said the Police’s decision to arrest Gangata despite the questionable evidence and government actions suggest a lack of evidence to support the allegations is clearly speaking to itself that this appears to be politically motivated move aimed at silencing the opposition.
“I am appalled by the government and Police’s treatment of Gangata’s arrest and detention over possession of a fake MSCE, he wrote his examinations and qualified for the award of the MSCE, this contradicts the claims of certificate forgery,” said Sunganimoyo.
