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| National |
| Jumbe wants court to fix time for case |
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by
Emmanuel Muwamba, 08 November 2004
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11:13:07
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The registrar of the High Court has set Wednesday at 8.30 AM for the hearing of an application to fix time within which the state must bring former Finance Minister Friday Jumbe for trial, and/or, for the variation of his bail conditions.
Summons from the registrar of the High Court dated November 5 to the Director of the Anti-Corruption Bureau and the Director of Public Prosecutions outline two orders.
The first is that of fixing the time within which the state must bring Jumbe before the High Court for trial for criminal charges against him, the applicant having been committed to the High Court for trial by the Magistrate Court, Lilongwe on October 29, 2004.
Secondly, that if the state does not bring the applicant for trial before the High Court within the period fixed by the court under the first order then his bail conditions must be varied to those that the court may deem fit.
Jumbe was arrested on October 27 at Chileka International Airport as he was about to board a plane to South Africa. He has since been charged with four offences namely: being in possession of property reasonably suspected of having been corruptly acquired; theft by person employed in the public service; theft by person employed in the public service and abuse of office.
Attached to the summons is an affidavit where Jumbe says upon arrival at the airport on October 27 his passport was taken away from him and he was placed under arrest and was immediately taken to Lilongwe where on October 28 an officer of the ACB interrogated him and recorded a caution statement.
“On November 29, I was taken before the Senior Resident Magistrates Court in Lilongwe for committal of my case to the High Court and for bail. The order of committal was granted. The magistrate also granted bail,” reads part of the affidavit.
On November 1, his lawyer Kalekeni Kaphale wrote a letter to the DPP and the Director of the ACB informing them that he would be available on November 5 to go the High Court with Jumbe’s plea and for the commencement of trial. Despite this neither of the two seemed ready on November 5 to take him to court for trial.
“Actually, on November 1, the director of ACB served on me a notice to produce audited accounts of the Superior Hotel Limited. He did not indicate in the notice whether he wanted the same for an offence against Superior Hotel or myself. On the same day, I received a copy of a letter by the same person asking valuers to come and value Superior Hotel.
“Naturally and constitutionally, I am supposed to be a free man, capable of going where I want without any leave or conditions. However, I am aware that the state has to prosecute me if they suspect me of having committed an offence.
“However, should the state wish to prosecute me, they should do so within reasonable time after arresting me and putting me on bail otherwise I believe it is unfair and unconstitutional for the state to arrest me and have me on bail conditions and then let me languish under such bail conditions for eternity before deciding to bring me to court for trial. That is tantamount to punishing me before conviction,” reads Jumbe’s letter in part.
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