Sam Banda Jnr, AfricaNews reporter in Blantyre, Malawi
Malawi's High Court in Blantyre has adjourned a corruption case involving former president Bakili Muluzi to April 17 after his defence asked for enough time for preparations.
Muluzi was arrested recently and dragged to court by the country’s Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB) allegedly for diverting about $ 11 million (1.7 billion Malawi Kwacha) donor money to his personal account.
The former president who was also dwelt the biggest blow last month when Malawi Electoral Commission(MEC) ruled that he was not eligible to stand in next month’s elections, has since asked the court to drop the corruption case.
Muluzi is reported to have told the court through his defence team that the case be dropped terming it as political interference by the executive arm of government.
However Judge Maclean Kamwambe ruled that the issue of interference had no bearing at this stage.
Later the defence team led by lawyer Kalekeni Kaphale is reported to have told the court that they were served with the case documents late hence asked for adjournment.
“The selected counts have six charges but they are the same 80 counts they have just been reorganised,” said Kaphale before also observing typographical errors.
However after weighing the arguments between the defence team and the state, Judge Kamwambe adjourned the case to April 17 saying such cases are not supposed to be hurried.
The adjournment of the case comes barely a few days after the Constitutional Court in the southern African country also threw out an application by the former president to contest in the May 19 elections.
The court told Muluzi who is said to have already served his two five year terms that he filed his grounds wrongly.
According to media reports in the country the former president who on Wednesday surprised the country when he joined forces with Malawi Congress Party (MCP) whose leader is John Tembo, and has since been granted permission to commence his challenge against the electoral body.
Time however, is running out for Muluzi who has been at loggerheads with president Bingu Wa Mutharika who dumped his United Democratic Front (UDF) in 2005.
The ex-president said he wants to return back to power to put money back in people’s pockets.
Muluzi was the first multiparty president taking office in 1994 after defeating late Hastings Kamuzu Banda.
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