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The Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB) has challenged a decision by High Court Judge Richard Chinangwa that it should obtain Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) consent before making any arrests.
ACB deputy director Alexius Nampota said in an interview Thursday the matter is before the Supreme Court of Appeal to be clarified since if unchallenged, High Court rulings set a precedent.
Currently, the law only requires the ACB to seek DPP’s consent when it wants to prosecute suspects after thorough investigations.
“The [High Court] ruling has set a wrong precedent because the bureau only seeks consent from the DPP when it wants to prosecute a matter,” said Nampota, observing that such a precedent would threaten the independence of the ACB.
Chinangwa ruled after lawyers for Lilongwe City Mayor Charles Chimdzeka, who, alongside his deputy Beatrice Baisi, is facing charges of corrupting assembly members to vote them into office, appealed that the ACB did not obtain the DPP’s consent within 14 days of their arrest.
The judge upheld the application and consequently declared the previous proceedings null and void.
Nampota said while the appeal case is pending, the bureau has since restarted the proceedings in the magistrate’s court.
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