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| National |
| DPP prosecutes K53m MHC case |
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by
Aubrey Mchulu, 18 March 2003
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Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) Fahad Assani has started prosecuting a fraud case at Malawi Housing Corporation where a Blantyre businessman is alleged to have claimed K53 million for goods he did not supply between 1998 and 2000.
Third prosecution witness MHC Principal Internal Auditor Aubrey Nyalapa told the court, presided over by Blantyre Senior Resident Magistrate Jack N’riva, on Tuesday that his investigation failed to trace the goods purported to have been delivered to the corporation by businessman Abdul Karim Batatawala.
But in response to a question by defence lawyer Alinane Kauka that the second defendant Bright Simango, a former purchasing officer for MHC, can trace the goods if asked to, Nyalapa said “there is that possibility”.
Kauka, co-defending the case with Christopher Tukula, also advised the court to take note of what he described as “contradictions” in the evidence of Nyalapa and another prosecution witness.
But Nyalapa said he stands by his evidence because “I failed to see the goods in our workshop [warehouse] during my physical check.”
He also said he cannot comment on the accusation that he was contradicting other prosecution witnesses because he was not present in court when they testified.
Kauka maintained that the majority of the items were delivered as demonstrated by the quantities and descriptions on delivery notes tendered in court.
Responding to questions from the DPP in examination-in-chief, Nyalapa said in early 1999 he proposed strict procurement controls to MHC management after noticing that departments were not complying with set guidelines by, among other things, receiving goods from suppliers like Batatawala without orders.
Nyalapa said it was Batatawala’s claim of K29 million which raised his curiosity to investigate the issue where he discovered that he supplied goods without any orders from MHC.
The court also learnt that MHC wrote Batatawala suggesting a meeting to clarify records of claims since the businessman claimed K62 million while the MHC said its records showed the amount involved was K46 million.
The DPP took over prosecution of the case in January this year after refusing to give consent to the Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB) to handle the case under the Corrupt Practices Act. The DPP recommended that the suspects be charged with fraud under the Penal Code.
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