The Anti Corruption Bureau (ACB) has expressed its contentment of the verdict passed to the top cashgate convict Tressa Namathanga Senzani on Tuesday 7th October 2014.
Senzani a former Ministry of Tourism Principle Secretary has been sentenced to 3 years imprisonment on money laundering charge and 9 month imprisonment on theft of up to K63.5 million.
Deputy Director for ACB Reyneck Matemba who has been a lead prosecutor in Senzani case said the custodial sentence given to Senzani is a step ahead in prosecution of Cashgate cases.
"Honestly we are happy with the ruling because in our submissions have been fighting for custodial sentence not a suspended sentence"
"Yes she pleaded guilty and the restitution was made but when you look at the gravity of offences that we charged her of Money laundering and theft are serious offences so we expected none other than custodial sentence and that's what we've got"
Justice Ivy Kamanga when passing the verdict did not consider judicial notice made by the state layer's on media reports regarding the impact of cashgate because they don't fit in the judicial notices in the criminal procedures. Instead the judge considered the contents from Budget Statement presented on 2nd September 2014 by Finance Minister Hon. Goodal Gondwe which noted sufferings Malawians had gone through due to cashgate where among them include donor aid suspension, shortage of essential goods like drugs a development which has lead to the zero aid budget.
Commenting on this rejected judicial notice Matemba clarified that "The court took into account the judicial notice issues. I think what the court has basically said is that if you look at the Section 182 of Criminal Procedure and Evidence Court it lists out things that court can take judicial notice of. News paper articles are not there because that's the position under the common law, but we did not only provide the or submit to court only the newspaper articles but we even provide parliamentary proceedings and that's what the court has agreed with us on."
Matemba also said Senzani case has been a lesson for the prosecution of other cashgate matters in court and has assured progress in other cashgate
cases that are still in courts.
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